The Gentle Tyrant
by Kross Kings
Summary: Whoever said Freshman year was hell, clearly never went to Duel Academy. This is the story of three friends in their second year, watching as things fall apart around them. Random encounters, runaway freshmen, card thieves, evil cults... Who'd have thought a school that taught you how to play Children's Card Games would be so exciting? Duel Academy needs to update their brochure.
1. Game Over

**Disclaimer: We don't own** _ **Naruto**_ **or** _ **Yu-Gi-Oh!**_ **. Please support the official release.**

 **A Kross Kings production.**

 **The Gentle Tyrant**

 **First Turn: Game Over!**

* * *

"Poki, I told you, already. I don't _care_ if the newbies are coming. I'm still wallowing over my demotion," a teenaged blond said to the small yellow dragon that growled and tugged on his sleeve. The teen had the evidence of adolescence in his broadening frame, his face would square out with time, although the three whisker-like birthmarks that were on either cheek would still be as prominent as they are now. He wore an unzipped white jacket with a red collar and trimming, open to reveal the fitted navy shirt underneath, which was tucked into his dark jeans. His feet were covered by red shoes that were issued by the Academy.

The teenager's name was Naruto Uzumaki, second year student of Duel Academy. He was just demoted from the Ra Yellow dorm to the Slifer Red shack during the last evaluation duel. It would be some time before he got over it. A recuperation that was rushed by the spectral dragon that was next to him.

The little drake was a bit of a chub ball with tiny wings and limbs, but it was special. It was Naruto's Duel Spirit, Poki Draco, which only started to appear around the second half of his first year. They might not have been together long, but he quickly discovered that while Poki was loyal to a fault, the spirit was also very accident prone and the fresh bandages on its head were not for show in the artwork. Still, he was an adorable chub, at least according to some of the girls on the island, but that was in reference to the card. Naruto had yet to meet someone else that could see Poki Draco.

" _Kroo_!"

"I. Don't. _Care_. I've got to think about how I'm getting back into Ra. I'm not letting the last term dicate this one!" Naruto grumbled and turned onto his side. "The bastard should've told me that a loss would've meant a demotion! I swear he kept it to himself for laughs."

" _Kroo~_ " Poki Draco rolled its eyes.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me!" Naruto pointed at his duel spirit with narrowed eyes. He laid back down and glared up at the cloud-filled sky. "And then there's the teachers! I swear, other than Miss Fontaine, they're all out to get me. _Especially_ Missus Crawler."

"You mean, _Professor_ Crowler?" a voice asked from nearby.

"Don't correct me, Poki, I know what I called Crawl-" The blond paused and got up to look over the edge of the roof. "Hey, Sakura! Decided to wear the skirt with pride I see. Nice."

With shoulder length pink hair and emerald eyes, Sakura Haruno stared up at him with her hands on her hips. She wore the female Obelisk Blue attire consisting of a white top with blue trimming, a blue miniskirt (something she had fought administration over in the last year), and royal blue boots.

"Naruto, you dummy! Get down from there! You know this rickety toolshed isn't stable! I'm not patching you back up if you get hurt," she said. She pointed a finger at him. "And _don't_ bring up the skirt, or I'll kick your ass!"

"I _know_ the dorm isn't stable! That's why I'm wallowing up here!"

"Stop being such a diva, that's Sasuke's job."

"Do not bring up He-Who-Shan't-Be-Named!" Naruto hissed. A low growl made him look at his Duel Spirit and nod. "That's a good point, Poki. Backstab McGee _does_ sound better."

"Just get down from there or I won't sneak you your coveted Ramen from the Dorm later. You know the welcoming feast has the best food you'll get all year here," Sakura said, her arms folded across her chest.

Naruto bit the inside of his cheek. Damn, that was a strong threat. However, there would be consequences if the Uzumaki didn't get his ramen. There's a reason why Crowler always looked like he was scowling whenever the cheap food was brought up, after all.

"Fine!" Naruto said as he threw his hands in the air. He crossed his arms and pouted. "I want it to be known that I'm attending this under protest!"

"I'll let the Headmaster know," Sakura said. "Now hurry, the freshmen are already gathering in the auditorium."

The blond grinned at her and took a few steps back, prepared to make a running leap off of the roof.

"Use the ladder, you dunderhead! I'm not getting any help if you break your leg!"

Naruto cringed at her tone. That was the "Don't mess with me, I'm an angry woman and I _will_ kick your ass!" tone. Last time he defied that tone, she managed to knock out the last of his baby teeth. Going those two months with large gaps in his grin didn't do him any favors.

"Fine, fine, I'll use the ladder," Naruto said. He pouted as he made his way over to the ladder. "Spoilsport."

* * *

Naruto had his hands deep in his pockets and his shoulders hunched as he walked down the hall with Sakura at his side. He hated orientation day the first time around. Why did he have to go to it again?

"Stop scowling, Naruto. Could you at least try and look pleasant for the new kids?" Sakura asked. She smacked his arm when he put on a forced cheeky smile. "Knock it off! You're walking around like a punk when you're supposed to make a good impression on the new students!"

"Who are you, my sister?" Naruto rubbed his arm with a grimace. That was going to bruise for sure. Sakura took up boxing in her spare time to keep in shape. Each punch she threw showed just how frightening that concept was.

"Shizune did ask me to look out for you," Sakura said. She laughed when he groaned.

"Girls. You're all against me, I swear." Naruto grumbled. His stride came to an abrupt halt when Sakura grabbed his arm with her absurd strength.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Sakura called down the adjacent hallway at the boy. Naruto groaned when he followed her gaze and spotted his best friend-slash-current-mortal-nemesis. With spiky jet black hair that was pushed back, which only made it look like a duck's rear end if you asked Naruto, and a pair of coal black eyes, Sasuke Uchiha stood out in the crowd of blue uniforms he stood with. He was wearing a long-tailed white jacket with blue trimming, the male version of the Obelisk uniform. Trailing "stealthily" about twenty or so feet behind him was a gaggle of girls with indiscriminate features. Beside the boy was a taller teen with dark teal hair, and near him were a group of other Obelisk boys.

"Ah, don't bother, Sakura. He's with Zane," Naruto said. He nodded at the other. "And the Zane moons."

"Moons?" Sakura asked as she looked back at Naruto.

"You know," he said with a nod to the other Obelisk boys. "The posers who orbit him to look tough."

"Oh!" Sakura nodded, as if a lightbulb turned on. She cupped her chin in wonder. "Huh. You know, that's scarily accurate about a lot of groups I see on the island."

"Exactly!" Naruto beamed when she used his term. He tended to think them up when he got bored in class. An event that happened very often.

"Still, let's go say hi. Zane's your friend, too."

"No, he was _Atticus_ ' friend. Zane is bland, like Sasuke."

"And you two are best friends."

"...This is not how guys do things, Sakura, there are checks and balances! We have bro codes!" He didn't even realize that Sakura had dragged him right next to Sasuke during their back and forth, until the guy said something to him with a quirked brow.

"Time for another 'guy friendship talk' again, Naruto?" Sasuke asked, a small smirk on his face.

"She just doesn't get it." Naruto sighed when he saw Sakura had blindsided Zane into a conversation about any potential talent he observed. He scowled at Sasuke, who rolled his eyes.

"Are you still wallowing?" Sasuke asked. Naruto recoiled from him and placed his hands over his chest.

"The mark you left on me is deep! Deep within my soul!"

"Could you _not_ say that when the fangirls are nearby?" The Uchiha hissed, flustered by Naruto's dramatics. The blond caught onto this little tidbit and pounced like a lioness would an antelope.

"Why? Are you worried about any potential shipping fodder?" Naruto asked. He grinned widely, placed his fists on his hips, and thrust out his chest. "I have absolute confidence in my masculinity! Don't you?"

"That isn't helping, you moron!" Sasuke punched Naruto in the head. He recoiled from his strike and cradled his throbbing hand. "Gah! I forgot, your head's harder than a rock!"

"Damn straight!" Naruto laughed. He rapped himself on the head with his knuckles. "Nothing can crack this bad boy! It protects my most important organ!"

"You mean your second stomach?" Sasuke asked.

"Nope! It protects my strategic brain!"

"That's a good one."

"Shut up."

"Hey, Slifer Slacker! Get lost! Can't you see you're bothering Sasuke?" One of the Zane moons suddenly interjected. Naruto regarded him with nothing but a sideways glance. He looked back at Sasuke.

"You hear something? Sounded like the breeze just picked up in here for a second," Naruto said. Sasuke shrugged.

"Hey! Don't ignore me, you Red bastard!" The same moon - Naruto decided to label him 'Bill #1 - snapped as he grabbed Naruto by the collar of his jacket.

"Guy-who's-name-I-don't-know, two things. First, shut up. You're disrupting my conversation with my frenemy," Naruto said. He glanced down at the hand grabbing him and then back at the nameless boy. "Two, if you don't want to get wrecked, you'll let go right now."

"What did you say!" The boy said, his face red as his friends held him back.

"Naruto, you know the rules." Sakura interjected.

"You mean that most Obelisk Blues need to learn to zip it?" Naruto asked.

"Ouch. That hurt my feelings." Sasuke deadpanned.

"I said _most_ , but you don't have any, so don't try to pull that on me!" Naruto snapped.

"Ken, calm down," Zane said in his usual smooth toned voice. The elder student looked at the lone Slifer of the group with a hint of approval and amusement. "Naruto could take you down easily."

"B-But, Zane!"

"Hey, until I get at least thirty feet away from the area, leave Zane's butt out of this Bill Number One," Naruto said. He brushed off the older boy's hand with a single bat and then looked at Zane. "Thanks, Truesdale."

Zane nodded.

"Hey! My name is Ken, you turd!" Ken glared at the Slifer student.

"That's what I said," Naruto said. "Clyde."

"You messed it up again." Sakura whispered into his ear. Naruto looked confused.

"Seriously? I swear I got it right this time," he said. Naruto put a hand on his chin and took up a thoughtful pose. "I mean, he's just so generic. He looks like he's part of the background."

The third year Obelisk looked ready to blow his top.

"Quiet." Zane cut in before his 'friend' tried to get his pride ripped to shreds. "The Chancellor's beginning his speech."

"Good ol' Neck Beard!" Naruto nodded.

"Naruto!" Sakura bonked the blond Slifer on the head. Her strike did what Sasuke's couldn't and made Naruto cringe. "Show some respect!"

"I say it out of endearment! God, what do you do in your spare time? Break cinderblocks with your fists?!" Naruto whimpered while Zane led his moons away. Poki Draco appeared at his side and pulled one of his bandages off, placing it on Naruto's head. Naruto chuckled when the attempt phased through him and patted the spirit on the head. "Thanks, Poki, it's the thought that counts."

"He's talking to himself again," Sakura sighed. Sasuke hummed while he stared with narrowed eyes at the space that Naruto patted. He could've sworn he saw-No. No, he was just imagining things.

" _Kroo…_ " Poki whined at Sakura's inability to see him. Naruto chuckled lightly, Poki loved Sakura, claiming her head offered the best naps.

The three friends walked into the auditorium and took seats along the sides, allowing them to stare at the freshmen. When the big bellied Chancellor began his speech of encouragement and trading card endorsements, Naruto started to doze off. Were it not for a few jabs to his ribs courtesy of Sakura, he would've succeeded.

"And so, I look forward to all of you advancing your dueling education here at Duel Academy!" Chancellor

"Sponsored by Seto Kaiba, Crowned King of Douche-dom." Naruto murmured while Poki made his equivalent of snickers.

"Amen." Sasuke smirked in agreement. Sakura rolled her eyes at the two.

"Boys!"

* * *

"Well, that was just as boring as it was the first time around," Naruto said. He was in the midst of walking back to the Slifer Red dorm to get ready for the feast. Sasuke and Sakura had both already head off for their own dorms, leaving Naruto alone. He was only alone if one didn't count Poki Draco.

" _Kroo_!" Poki growled as he trotted along beside Naruto. The blond grinned down at him.

"Yeah, bud, I hear you!" he nodded and his hands interlaced behind his head. "If Sakura would've relented, we could've actually gotten some more sleep in during that thing."

"Hey! Slacker!" Naruto turned around and squinted his eyes at the Obelisk blue storming up to him. The boy had a duel disk on his arm and a gleam in his eye.

"Do I know you?" Naruto asked. The Obelisk scowled and pointed a thumb at himself.

"It's me!" The Obelisk student's face began to turn red when Naruto squinted at him. He gnashed his teeth together. "Ken!?"

"Oh, that's right. Ken, of course." Naruto nodded slowly. Ken's eyebrow twitched violently.

"You have no idea who I am, do you?" He accused. Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"Uh, no. No, I do not," he said with a sheepish laugh.

"Are you serious?! We just freaking met not fifteen minutes ago!" Ken snapped. He growled and then activated his Duel Disk. "That's _it_! Me! You! Duel! Now! Triangles!"

"Y'know I'm not one that complains over how people talks, but could you use _actual_ sentences? We aren't animals, man," Naruto said. He held up his hands at his sides and shrugged. "But hey, what kind of duelist would I be to turn down a requested duel?"

Naruto pulled out his standardize Duel Academy Duel Disk from under his jacket.

"Where did you get that?" Ken asked after a minute. He could've sworn that there weren't any visible abnormalities when he pursued the Slifer, nor was there a sack or bag that could've contained the Duel Disk. So where did it come from?

"I never leave my room without it," Naruto chirped while Poki climbed up his back and sat on his shoulder, much in the manner of that rodent on the Capsule Monsters show that Industrial Illusions was trying to promote as the next big thing. Naruto didn't think it would ever catch on, and would probably go the way of that Dungeon Dice game, but Poki liked watching the show back at the Ra Dorm and it allowed Naruto to pretend to do his homework for an hour without his spirit trying to help.

Ken, oblivious to the duel spirit's presence, stared dumbly at the blond.

"B-But where-?!"

"I'll call heads!" Naruto grinned as their Duel Disks synced up and a holographic coin flipped in the air. The coin descended and landed on the flat space between them, a giant golden eye staring up at the clouds. Naruto whooped. "Awesome! I'll take the second turn."

"W-Wait!" Ken fumbled, still trying to come to terms with what he saw. He didn't register his and Naruto's deck letting out a ding as both their life point meters activated.

# Ken Life Points (LP): 4000 #

# Naruto Life Points (LP): 4000 #

"Come on, Blue Boy," Naruto said. He crossed his arms and stared down the Obelisk Blue student. "Hurry up already, man. I'm want to smoke you before dinner's done cooking."

"I'll show you _lame_! I draw!" Ken declared as he drew from his deck and looked at his cards. A grin spread across his face. "Ha! Big mistake, I'll start with this. I summon Marauding Captain in attack mode."

Ken set down his card on his duel disk and a holographic monster appeared between the two teens. It was a grizzled knight with plated armor, a dramatic cape and two swords. A stern scowl was on the knight's face.

# Marauding Captain: Level 3; ATK: 1200; DEF: 400 _._ #

"Once he's summoned to the field, I can summon another level four or lower level monster from my hand," Ken said. He held another card out and slapped it onto his Duel Disk. "And I choose Armed Samurai - Ben Kei!"

The next hologram appeared at the Marauding Captain's side. He was riddled with weapons and clad in Eastern armor.

# Armed Samurai - Ben Kei: Level 4; ATK: 500; DEF: 800 #

"That's not all!" Ken presented a spell card from his hand. "Now I'll equip my Ben Kei with the Axe of Despair! It boosts Ben Kei with an additional 1000 attack points."

A grotesque axe with a wooden hilt appeared in the already over encumbered warrior's hand. The monster examined the axe and gave it a few swings before it grinned.

# Armed Samurai - Ben Kei: Level 4; ATK: 1500; DEF: 800 #

"But why should I stop there?" Ken smirked and slid another magic card into his Disk. "I'll also equip him with my Fusion Sword Murasame Blade."

A traditional katana-like blade appeared in front of Ben Kei. The instant the warrior took hold of the blade's hilt, the guard flashed and expanded over Ben Kei's arm.

# Armed Samurai - Ben Kei: Level 4; ATK: 2300; DEF: 800 #

"I end my turn Slacker. Hope you can brace yourself," Ken said and crossed his arms haughtily.

"Oh, yeah. I'm shaking in my boots," Naruto said. He shook his head and drew his first card. He added the draw to his hand and thought over the contents: Giant Trunade, Flame Ruler, Dragon's Gunfire, Spiritual Fire Art - Kurenai, Familiar Possessed - Hiita and his first draw was Pot of Greed.

" _Kroo~!_ " Poki rumbled as he looked over the cards. Naruto laughed sheepishly and scratched his head with his free hand.

"Yeah, I know. Talk about a lucky draw!" Naruto chuckled out. He continued to grin as he pulled his first choice. "Well, _Keith_ , you wanted me to brace myself? I offer you the same advice, 'cause I activate Giant Trunade!"

The face depicted on the spell card manifested in front of Naruto, hovering over an enlarged version of its card, and grinned sinisterly at the opposing monsters. The air went from a calm breeze to a heavy rush, all focused on Ken's two monsters, but it affected Ben Kei the most due to the spells that weighed the warrior down.

#Armed Samurai - Ben Kei: Level 4; ATK: 500; DEF: 800#

Ken crossed his arms over his face and squinted through the winds, lowering his guard when they finally died down. He retrieved his spell cards and scoffed.

"Oh, no! My cards are back in my hand, whatever shall I do? Idiot, I'll just re-equip them on my next turn!" Ken smirked. "Rookie mistake, Slifer Slacker. As expected."

"The mistake was showing me you had those cards to begin with," Naruto said with a grin as he held up his next card. The green border and insignia made the Obelisk Blue student grimace. "I play the sinfully sweet Pot Of Greed!"

A sickly green pot with a twisted smile on its front appeared in front of Naruto as he drew two more cards. Naruto looked at his drawn cards for a minute and then began to laugh. It wasn't malicious or sinister, crazed or insane, but oddly very joyful and humorous. The sound of it made Ken scowl.

"What's so funny?" He demanded of the younger student. Naruto settled down, his smile still in place as he filtered his cards into his hand.

"All in good time, Kyle! All in good time," he said. He pulled another card out. "But since I don't have any time to waste, I'll just get on with it and summon my main man, Flame Ruler!"

A dark skinned, heavily built and well defined man with wild blue appeared in front of Naruto via pillar of fire. Markings lined the Flame Ruler's left side and his eyes were emissive orbs of light. A simple red cloak and blue slacks was all that the monster wore.

# Flame Ruler: Level 4; ATK: 1500; DEF: 1600 #

"So what? Even if your monster has more attack points than mine, I still have my equip cards and more surprises in store," Ken said with a scowl. Naruto tutted and wagged a finger at the older boy.

"You need to learn a little thing called patience, Claudia," he said.

"That's a girl's name!" Ken snapped.

"I don't judge," Naruto said with a shrug. He crossed his arms. "Flame Ruler, teach this guy a lesson and turn that wannabe Ben Kei into Barbeque!"

Flame Ruler's hands ignited with fire and he launched himself forward. The fiery mystic let out a battle cry as he delivered a flying left hook to Ben Kei, only for the Marauding Captain to dive in and take the hit. The knightly warrior type was destroyed by the attack and scattered into fragments.

Ken winced from the mild jolt his Duel Disk gave him and took a firm step back. He grimaced and then scowled at the boy while his Life Points dropped.

Ken LP: 4000 - 300 = 3700

Naruto LP: 4000

"Huh, that's weird," Naruto said with a frown. "Flame Ruler, why didn't you attack the Samurai?"

"Because the Marauding Captain forces all monsters to attack him instead of any other warrior monster I have on the field," Ken said. He brushed off his shoulder and crossed his arms. "Congratulations,you destroyed one of my monsters. Too bad I'm going to turn your Life Points into ash! My tur-!"

"Hey, Kamilla, I never said I was done yet!" Naruto interjected with a grin. He held up another spell card and showed it off to the older boy. "Remember when I used Pot Of Greed a few seconds ago? Well it gave me this lovely trinket: Tribute Doll. Sorry in advance."

"Sorry for what?" Ken asked.

"I was talking to Flame Ruler," Naruto said as he slid the spell card into his Duel Disk. "Tribute Doll allows me to sacrifice one monster on my field to special summon a level seven monster from my hand."

"What?!" Ken's eyes bulged out of their sockets. He watched as a massive steel slab rose from a glow of light behind Flame Ruler. Four pointed knives launched from the slab and wound around each of Flame Ruler's limbs. The pyro monster cried out as he was pulled back to the slab and pinned to it.

"Like I said, Flame Ruler, I'm sorry. Any other duel I'd let this go, but it's almost time for the feast," Naruto said as Flame Ruler was destroyed into a shower of pixels much like Ben Kei was moments earlier, only the pixels didn't shower away and evaporate. Instead, they remained hovering in front of the slab. Naruto looked solemn at the sacrifice, before his eyes blazed. He pulled a card from his hand and placed it onto his Duel Disk. His disk shone and Naruto's eyes reflected the sunlight,giving off the illusion of a bright sun in the sky. "Rise up and conquer: Tyrant Dragon!"

The pixels held in place by the spell card burst into flames and expanded. A massive ball of fire filled the clearing until two massive wings emerged, and with it came the rest of an orange-scaled dragon. Fins framed the creature's head while two bone-white horns sprouted back from its skull. In the center of its forehead was a green gem.

When it fully manifested, the dragon reared back onto its hind legs and roared. The earth-shaking sound announced its presence for all of Duel Academy Island to hear. Then, to Ken's surprise, it settled down onto its four limbs, rather than attack. Instead, the Tyrant Dragon settled for glaring at Ken.

"Oh, yeah!" Naruto snapped his fingers as if he just remembered something. "Monsters summoned with Tribute Doll can't attack on the turn they're summoned."

"If that's the case, why bother summoning it that way at all?" Ken asked, cowed by the glare Tyrant Dragon had locked on him and his monster. It was almost as if the damn thing were alive and irritated at him!

"Tyrant Dragon would've come onto the field one way or another," Naruto said with a pat on the Dragon's hind leg. He grinned up at the beast when it glanced back at him and then expelled two brief streams of fire from its snout, as if dismissing him. Naruto looked back at Ken. "However, the feast starts soon, and since I'm at the glorified toolshed, I want to make sure I get something. Better to do this and wait a turn than risk you pulling something out of your ass and prolonging this duel."

"S-So, you're done?" Ken asked hesitantly as he kept glancing back at Tyrant Dragon, who continued to glare at him.

"I'll set a face down first, then yeah," Naruto said as he slid a final card into his Duel Disk. He grinned. "Your move, Canada."

"Right…" Ken shook his head and then drew his card. He looked over his hand and withheld a grimace. There was nothing he had that could deal with that dragon right now. He could stall for time and make the Slifer's other monster summons one-hit wonders once he boosted Ben Kei up. The trap was likely something to stop his monsters from changing battle positions, so he wouldn't bother with that. Besides, the life points he'd lose if Ben Kei was destroyed wouldn't amount to much anyway. Ken nodded to himself for his tactical plan and then glared at Naruto.

"Hope you're ready, Slacker! First, I re-equip Axe Of Despair and Fusion Sword Murasame Blade to Ben Kei!" Ken said, and upon placing the two cards, the Samurai's attack stats boosted back up.

# Armed Samurai - Ben Kei: Level 4; ATK 2300; DEF 800 #

"I'll set a monster in defense mode and end my turn," Ken said. He crossed his arms as the back of a monster card appeared in front of him, horizontal and face down. "Make your move, Slifer Slacker."

"Says the guy staring down a dragon," Naruto said under his breath as he drew his card. Tyrant snorted again, getting an odd look from Ken, and Poki Draco growled something when it saw Naruto's draw. The blond cracked another grin. "Yeah, I agree, buddy. This duel is as good as done!"

"Big talk for a Slacker!" Ken spat. He smirked and gestured grandiosely to his monsters. "I've got two monsters on the field, and while your Dragon can take them out, it'll take more than one turn!"

"...Man, now I feel like _I_ need to apologize to the bastard for losing that duel," Naruto said. He adjusted his cards and held up a spell card. On the card was a dragon that resembled Tyrant Dragon unleashing a ball of fire from its mouth. "First, I'll activate Dragon's Gunfire!"

Tyrant Dragon lifted its head and built fire up in its maw. As the beginnings of flames flickered out between its teeth, Naruto explained what the card did.

"Dragon's Gunfire can only be activated when there's a dragon card on my side of the field. I can choose between two effects, one that destroys a monster with eight hundred defense points or less..." He gave the sweating Armored Samurai a pointed look and Ken's features paled. " _Or_...I could deal eight hundred points of direct damage to your Life Points! Tyrant, I'm sure you know which one I choose, but for Cleopatra's sake, bring down those Life Points!"

Tyrant Dragon reared its head back before it launched out a massive fireball at Ken. The Obelisk Blue student trembled where he stood as the attack approached. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes before the impact caused an explosion that kicked up some dust. Ken grunted and grimaced as his Life Points dropped.

Ken LP: 3700 - 800 = 2900

Naruto LP: 4000

Ken's grimace remained on his face as he glared at Naruto.

"You wasted a prime card, loser. You could've seen what my set monster was!" Ken jeered.

"Oh, Kyle, what you call a waste, I call a bombardment. Bad news for you is that I've only just begun!" Naruto chuckled and bestowed a second spell card, this one depicting a large draconic foot stomping down on primitive armaments. "I activate Stamping Destruction!"

The spell card's hologram activated next to Tyrant Dragon's hind leg. Tyrant Dragon stood from its lax position and its wings spread. A powerful flap lifted it from the ground and it ascended into the sky.

"You see, Stamping Destruction is like Dragon's Gunfire. It can only be used with a dragon on my side of the field, but instead of dealing damage outright, it does something a bit more spectacular: It allows me to target one spell or trap card on your side of the field. And if I succeed, you lose five hundred Life Points," Naruto said. He let his hands rest on his hips and he looked up at the silhouette of Tyrant Dragon. "Tyrant! Get rid of that pesky axe!"

Tyrant Dragon released a roar as it descended like a rocket towards the Armored Samurai. Ben Kei stared up in horror at the approaching monster and, at the last second, he jumped out of the way of its impact. The warrior-type monster lost grip of his axe in the process, leaving it to be flattened and destroyed under Tyrant Dragon's claw.

# Armed Samurai - Ben Kei: Level 4; ATK: 1500; DEF: 800 #

"Hey, look at that, I destroyed your axe! You know what that means," Naruto sang out with a grin. Ken grimaced and braced himself again as his Life Points dropped.

Ken LP: 2900 - 500 = 2400

Naruto LP: 4000

"Grr, even if you attack, I'll still have a thousand Life Points!" Ken said. Naruto closed his eyes and nodded.

"You're right. Even if I attacked I _would_ have to suffer through another round against you. That's _not_ happening," he said. Naruto grinned and held his hand out towards the trap card he set on his last turn. "Good news for you and bad news for me, Tyrant Dragon's going to be leaving the field. Sorry about this big guy; I activate my Trap Card: Spiritual Fire Art - Kurenai!"

The trap card lifted and from it emerged in a circle of red light a redheaded girl dressed in revealing leathers with a white shirt and brown belt underneath an oversized cloak. In her hand was a burning staff.

"Always glad to see ya, Hiita!" Naruto greeted the hologram. The red-eyed girl grinned at him before she slashed her staff through the air and faced Ken with a look of fierce determination on her face.

"...I think I just found one of my new favorite spellcasters," Ken said as his face turned red. Naruto's grin twisted into a grimace while Hiita's eyes became two blazing fireballs.

"For the sake of my sanity, I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that," Naruto said. He shook his head to rid himself of the unwanted images and grinned once more at Ken. "Now that my Trap Card has been activated, I choose one Fire-type monster on my side of the field and sacrifice it to deal direct damage to your life points. Time to go out with a bang, Tyrant!"

Hiita spun her staff and slammed the end into the ground, her eyes shut in intense concentration as a red circle embroidered with Egyptian text and alchemic symbols appeared in front of her. The same rune mirrored itself above and beneath Tyrant Dragon, who gave one last roar before the runes rose/descended on it, changing the mighty drake into a creature of fire. Naruto pointed at Ken and lost his smile, a grave look of seriousness in his gaze.

"Next time you want to duel, pick a day that doesn't risk me missing out on a good meal, Karen!" He barked at the Obelisk student before he twisted his hand and pointed his thumb down. "Game over, Ken. Finish it, Hiita! Spiritual Fire Art - _Kurenai_!"

Hiita's eyes snapped open and she took hold of her staff in both hands. She pulled the blazing stick back to her side and then thrust it at the magical rune in front of her. The rune shone and the blazing inferno formerly known as Tyrant Dragon launched at the Obelisk Blue student. Ken let out a wail of disbelief as the fiery attack engulfed him and his Life Points depleted to zero.

Ken LP: 0

Naruto LP: 4000

When the Duel Disks deactivated, Ken slumped to his hands and knees, wide eyed and shocked. Naruto cleaned his cards from his disk and set them back into his deck. He turned and prepared to walk away, but stopped at the Obelisk's next cry.

"You cheated!" Ken accused. He glared daggers at the blond Slifer's back. "You stacked your deck, there's no way you got a hand and four draws perfectly! I demand a rematch!"

" _Kroo!_ " Poki Draco growled and the hints of small embers broke through his mouth. Naruto caught him by the tail when the little drake tried to launch himself at the boy. The blond wasn't sure if the Duel Spirit could do actual harm, but he wasn't about to try and risk it. Especially since that would only fan Ken's flames.

"I don't cheat, Blue Boy," Naruto said. He pulled Poki Draco back to his side, holding the struggling drake by his tail to keep him in place, and held his Duel Disk up. "Kaiba Corp.'s best and brightest developed these Duel Disks to automatically shuffle our decks. You _can't_ cheat, you'd have to be re-donk-u-lously smart to be able to modify them. If it makes you feel better, I was demoted from Ra Yellow to Slifer Red because I didn't do so hot on my evaluation exam _and_ lost my placement duel. If I hadn't lost my duel, I would've stayed in Ra."

"So you're saying that was all luck!?" Ken scowled. He shot to his feet and cut his arm through the air. "No way! No one is _that_ lucky! Not even the King of Games could draw a hand that good!"

"Think what you want, Carter," Naruto said with a shrug. He turned away and resumed his walk towards his new dorm with his hands interlaced behind his head, and a growling Poki Draco seated on his shoulder. "If you want to challenge the results, take it up with the Chancellor. Just be sure to tell him that _you_ challenged _me_ and _lost_. I'm sure that'll help him resolve the issue."

Ken recoiled and scowled. If he went to someone higher up and voiced his worries, he'd appear to be both petty and a sore loser. No one would want to duel him and his Duelist rank would drop faster than one could sacrifice their Kuriboh from their hand.

Instead, the Obelisk Blue balled his hand into a fist and watched the boy walk away. His eyes narrowed and he ground his teeth.

"This isn't over, _Slacker_. No one makes a fool of Kenneth von Schroeder," Ken said. He stalked away and pulled his personal cellular phone out. "Next time we duel, your dragon's going to find his wings clipped. Then you'll crash and burn."

* * *

 **AN: No back and forth this time, sorry lovelies.**

 **We made a new story and placed it in GX because A) Yugi fucking Moto is the King of Games, your argument is invalid; 2) A school environment promises so much for Manga/Anime; and finally, because we can!**

 **Now y'all know what we want you to do!**

 **Click that magic button down below and leave us that sweet, sweet...**

 **REVIEW!**


	2. Children's Card Game 101

**Disclaimer: We don't own** _ **Naruto**_ **or** _ **Yu-Gi-Oh!**_ **. Please support the official release.**

 **A Kross Kings production.**

 **The Gentle Tyrant**

 **Second Turn: Children's Card Game 101**

* * *

"Is this really all that we have for breakfast, Prof?" Naruto asked. He looked down at the small tray of scrambled eggs that were unworthy of being in a hospital, reheated cooked ham from the feast the night before, an orange with a large bruise on the side and two slices of paper-thin toast. He looked back up at the professor. "Seriously?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Uzumaki, but our dorm has limited funds. Be happy you get to eat these leftovers at all," Professor Lyman Banner said to him gently. He was a soft-spoken teacher who Naruto thought was utterly confusing at times, but amusing at others. He had small glasses resting on the end of his nose, which did little to help the man see since he was always squinting, and long dark hair tied back in a ponytail. The tall, thin man was dressed in a white shirt with a large collar, fitted, but relaxed slacks, and a loose tie. In his arms was the ever-present fat tabby cat, Pharaoh.

"Poki, I take back what I said to Klarion," Naruto said under his breath to his duel spirit as he walked away from the dorm head with his meager meal in hand. Poki nodded and crooned in agreement. He sat down next to a rotund boy with a large nose. The whiskered blond grinned at him. "Sup, Chum?"

"Eh, not much. Got two new roommates. They're loud and a bit annoying," the boy, Chumley, said with a snort as he continued to sketch in his notebook. "Not like your roommates."

Naruto took a minute to glance at over at his roommates and winced when he saw them lift a piece of food, chew it and swallow in perfect synchronization. Richie and Ronnie Smith, like Obelisk Kraven Whatshisname, were so bland they just melded with the background. Naruto hated thinking it, since they were nice guys and let him be for the most part, but it wasn't like he hung out with them anyway. They were third years and had their circle of friends that they grouped with.

"My roommates are 'moons', Chumley. Moons! At least you've got two asteroids or maybe even little planets to deal with," Naruto said. He sighed, slumped down in his seat and propped his head up with one hand while he fed himself with the other. "I swear, the sooner the evaluations come, the better. No offense."

"None taken, just keep sneaking some of Professor Sartyr's grilled cheese specials my way and we'll be good," Chumley said with a small smile. Naruto grinned a little and then pointed at the notebook with his fork.

"So, what's that you're drawing?" he asked. Chumley flustered and pulled his notebook away, which made Naruto whine. "Aww, c'mon, Chum! Lemme see!"

"No way, Naruto. It's not any good, you'll just laugh at me," Chumley said with a scowl. He stuffed the rest of his breakfast sandwich into his mouth and finished it off. Once done, he rose from his seat and left the dining hall. "I'm heading back to my dorm. I got some homework to look over for Fontaine's health class."

"Chum! Chumley! C'mon, man, I'm sure it's not bad!" Naruto called out to the rotund teen. He sighed and propped his head up again. "Dang it. I hate this dorm. It's a sad, sad place."

"How could it be that bad? It's got the coolest of the Gods watching over it!" A boisterous and cheerful voice interrupted Naruto's lamenting. The blond looked up and first stared for a good moment at the living, breathing Kuriboh that he found. That was not natural hair, that wasn't even an afro. That had to be a Kuriboh on the kid's head. His thoughts were interrupted as the boy spoke again. "Name's Jaden Yuki! I'm the next King of Games!"

"Uh...Huh…" Naruto blinked. He shook his head and crossed his arms. "I'm sorry, what was your question before?"

"Why do you think the dorm sucks? It's so rad!" Jaden grinned.

"Who talks like that - Never mind, don't answer that. To answer your question: the food sucks," Naruto said. He stabbed his fork into the pretend scrambled egg brick to demonstrate the food's mediocre standard to the freshman. "The rooms are crowded, and worst of all, _worst_ of all!" He dropped his head into his hands and sobbed. "There's. No. Fresh. _Ramen_!"

"Well, yeah. Not having a big kitchen does kind of blow, but we can always go to the Academy Food Mart! They've got cup ramen," Jaden said with a grin.

"...Stickman, get the Initiation Stick." Naruto growled while he glared at Jaden. Another third year whooped and rushed out of the dorm. He ran back in and gave a modified bat to the fuming blond. Naruto rose up from his seat and took a few steps until he cornered Jaden. He then started to make a few practice swings, aiming at Jaden's head. "Don't move, and I promise it'll only hurt a lot."

"Ah, uh, Professor Banner!?" Jaden panicked. His frightened gaze darted around the room before it landed on the dorm head that was grooming his cat. "A little help here?"

"What's all the commotion about? Don't you kids have class soon?" Professor Banner blinked when he saw the bat and said. "Another initiation, I thought I abolished that last year. I mean really, Naruto. Are the nails absolutely necessary?"

"I don't know." Naruto stopped and lowered his bat. He then turned to the third year that got the stick. "Hey, Stickman, are the nails absolutely necessary?"

"Pretty damn crucial, Naruto!" Stickman nodded. Naruto slowly turned back to look at Professor Banner.

"Stickman says yes," he said. Professor Banner wasn't even fazed.

"No more Initiation Stick."

"Aw, come on!" Naruto and many other senior students groaned when Banner expertly snatched the bat without harming himself. The whiskered blond frowned while Jaden sighed in relief.

"Get a paddle without nails and then you can have all the fun you want," Banner said as he walked back to his table and sat down with Pharaoh.

"And the dream lives on!" Stickman cheered along with many other seniors. They ran off to find the approved Initiation weapon. Naruto remained behind with an owlish Jaden.

"So...Initiation?" Jaden asked. Naruto looked at him and shrugged.

"It's a rite of passage. A few whacks here and there. Nothing too serious," he said. He grimaced and rubbed his lower back. "Be thankful you didn't get the nails, newbie. At most you'll have an issue sitting down."

"Oh. Well. That's...odd." Jaden shuddered before he shook it off and then grinned. "No matter, everyone gets initiated, right? No big deal for the next King of Games!"

"You know, some may call that arrogance," Naruto said simply. He grinned and quickly pulled the younger teen into a headlock. "I, however, recognize confidence when I see it! So what kind of cards do you use?"

"We could always duel to find out," Jaden said with a grin. He looked at the clock and then grimaced. "Or after class. You know, you're a pretty cool senior. What's your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki. Don't forget it kid, or I'll have to burn it into your memory," Naruto said as he led the boy out of the dining area.

* * *

"I love the sight of humbling in the morning," Sasuke said with a smirk as he sat within the main Obelisk Blue dorm lounge, a cup of coffee in his hand. He was watching three freshmen run back and forth in their pajamas, cleaning the floor. The reason he did so? He caught them on their return from an unsanctioned and illegal duel. How did he know it was a duel? The three morons didn't know how to whisper. Sasuke sipped some of his coffee, smacked his lips and then leveled an intense glare on the three. "I can't see my face in the reflection yet! Twenty more laps, you slackers!"

After being caught, the little leader of the idiot trio tried to duel him. Jazz Kingsley or something like that, Sasuke stopped caring what the boy's name was after he won the duel with ridiculous ease. He had seen the kid's type before and what the brat needed was a good sense of humility beaten into him. It did wonders for Sasuke whenever he lost against the idiot he called his best friend.

"I'll...Reflect...You!" The younger teen growled between each lap.

"Was that sass?" Sasuke arched a brow up. He sipped his coffee and then smirked. "I think you earned ten more laps."

"Sasuke, what are you doing?" Zane asked as he walked up to the second year. He also had a cup of coffee in his hand. Sasuke let his smirk grow an inch wider.

"Morning entertainment," he said. Zane hummed and sat on the couch beside him. Both sipped their coffee in relative silence while they observed. Only the sounds of their sips and Sasuke's occasional barks broke the silence. It was a few minutes later that one of the stooges's slipped and slid along the freshly cleaned floor. He slammed face first into a wall, and Sasuke burst into laughter.

"Zane, why are those three scrubbing the floor in their pajamas?" A buxom blond asked as she walked up to the seated boys.

"I'm sure _you_ know," Sasuke said, cutting his eyes away from the comedy show to look at her. He'd seen better. "At least from what they told me. _Cheerleader_."

Zane closed his eyes and groaned when the blond's brown eyes narrowed on Sasuke. She folded her arms under her bust.

"I'm sorry? I don't think we've met," she said with a bit of bite. Sasuke arched a brow, to show he didn't care what she thought of his assumption, and she continued. "I'm Alexis Rhodes."

"Rhodes? She's not like-?" Zane cut off Sasuke.

"She's the _sane_ one of the family."

"Oh, thank god!" Sasuke sighed in relief as he introduced himself with a raise of his cup. "Sasuke Uchiha, Second Year."

"Uchiha? ...Oh, you're the other one that some of the older girls like to follow," Alexis said with a nod. Sasuke's brow twitched. She was like other women, it would seem, clinging to one small offense and holding it over him until he apologized. It would seem that they wouldn't be friends this morning.

"They don't follow. They stalk." Sasuke corrected her. He returned to watching the show and enjoying his coffee, since Rhodes wasn't going to be civil and forgive him for his mistake. Not that he would go asking for it.

"Speaking of stalking, it would seem that Naruto's made himself _another_ enemy," Zane said. He shook his head. "At the rate he's going, someone will be hiring a Duel Mercenary to get their petty revenge."

"Wait, was it that generic guy?" Sasuke asked. "The one you told not to challenge Naruto?"

"His name is Ken," Zane said. He cracked a small smile. "And he claims that Naruto cheated."

"Naruto? Cheat? _Please_!" Sasuke scoffed. "That idiot isn't smart enough to run a system check on his laptop, he'd never be able to hack the Duel Disks. The dope has an uncanny knack to draw gold."

"Except for your last duel," Zane said. He glanced at the nearest clock before he continued. "That was quite the match."

"Yeah it was," Sasuke said. He looked down at his mug and cracked a small smile. "If I hadn't gotten lucky myself, I'd be the one in the red dorm."

"Hold on, you're talking about a Slifer? That Jaden kid, right?" Alexis asked. Sasuke glanced at her and then looked at Zane. The oldest of the three hummed.

"Jaden defeated Crowler's personal deck in his entrance exam duel," he explained to the confused Uchiha.

"...I missed that? No wait, _Naruto_ missed that? Where's the video?" Sasuke asked, sitting upright. Zane shook his head.

"I'll show you after class. Speaking of, Alexis, yours starts in ten minutes," he said. Alexis blinked, looked at the clock, and then grimaced. She prepared to leave, before stopping and looking back at Zane.

"How did you-?"

"I know everyone's schedule. I have to as the Duel Academy Representative," Zane said.

"That's a bit eerie," Alexis said. Zane shrugged.

"Take it up with the Chancellor. He said it was so that I could find a partner or opponent on a whim to keep myself straight," he said. Zane finished his coffee and stood. Before he left the area, he glanced over at his two juniors. "If it eases your concerns, I only _memorize_ the schedules of the ones I think are worth bothering for such things."

"...Show off," Sasuke said as the older boy left the room. He looked at Alexis and arched a brow. "You're going to be late if you keep staring at him admirably."

"What do you care?" Alexis asked. Sasuke shrugged.

"I don't. I was just pointing it out," he said. She left without another word. Sasuke stood up and tossed his empty cup into a nearby reciprocal. He walked up to the idiot trio and clapped his hands.

"Alright, Slackers, you got class. Do us a favor and clean yourselves up."

The freshmen stopped what they were doing and panted from their morning workout.

"C-Come...on, guys," panted out the spiky haired leader whose name Sasuke didn't care about. He stood up and straightened his sweat-covered pajamas to recompose himself. "Let's get out of here."

His two friends nodded and followed after him, but not before the brat shot Sasuke one last dirty look.

"I can whoop you in another duel if it makes you feel better!" Sasuke called out to him, but the boy hastened his pace and the three disappeared around a corner. The second year student smirked and crossed his arms. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Sasuke stretched his arms a little and began to head towards his room so he could get ready for class.

* * *

"I mean, I got nothin' against the guy, but what purpose does alchemy have in dueling? Math and reading make sense, as does tactics, and even cooking!" Naruto threw his arms up in the air. "Even _cooking_ makes more sense than alchemy!"

"If you think about it, Naruto, cooking is a form of alchemy," Sakura said as she and Naruto sat down in the same row as Sasuke.

"Do I even want to know what he's complaining about now?" asked the Obelisk Blue member of their trio.

"Why is alchemy even taught here? What good does it do?" Naruto asked as he leaned around Sakura to look at his rival. Sasuke groaned.

"Banner riled you up again?" he asked. Naruto grumbled under his breath and Sasuke sighed. "Jeez, idiot, don't let him get to you or you'll never get back in Ra Yellow."

"Shut up, bastard, what do you know?"

"Guys, Crowler's here. Save the debate for later," Sakura said as the effeminate man walked into the room.

The man was tall and thin, but was unlike Professor Banner being that he was slightly pale. He had applied purple or a dark blue shade of lipstick to his mouth and he had platinum blond hair cut into a bowl for his bangs and pulled the rest into a ponytail. His Obelisk jacket was modified to have pink frills along his shoulders, cuffs and collar, but other than that it was pretty standard.

" _Bonjour_ , my second year students! I'm so happy to see you all punctual and present!" Professor Crowler greeted with a cheerful smile. He clapped his hands together. "Now today, I would like to show to core concept of a Wind attribute deck. Now who to pick, who to pick, aha! Madam Haruno, would you please come down here for a duel simulation?"

"Oh! Of course, Professor." Sakura nodded. She rose from her seat and walked down the lecture hall's steps. At the center floor, the professor offered a Duel Disk and she thanked him before pulling it on and sliding her deck in while moving to the far end of the room. The professor podium folded into the wall offer more space while a simulator drone dropped down from a panel in the ceiling.

"Now, I have set the computer to run duel patterns similar to that of the regional champion Mai Valentine," Crowler informed the girl.

"Watch out for the Herpes!" A second year shouted from the top row.

"Who said that?!" Crowler whirled around, scowling deeply at his students. He received no answer and huffed. "Fine, I will simply ask for a one page essay on Wind attribute cards on my desk tomorrow morning."

Everyone let out a groan at this, some glaring around the crowd to find the offender. Naruto and Sasuke were both part of the crowd. They did not want to write a paper for Crowler.

"I'm all set, Professor," Sakura said with a smile.

" _Excellente_!" Crowler smiled at one of his favored students and clasped his hands together. "Please do your best, Madam Haruno. Give us a wonderful show!"

A holographic coin projected from the duel simulator's iris just as Sakura's Duel Disk activated. It tossed in the air and Sakura watched it flip.

"I call tails," she said. The coin landed with a blank red side up and Sakura grinned.

Sakura LP: 4000

Duel Simulator (D. Sim.) LP: 4000

"Alright, I'll start this off!" She declared as she drew a card from her deck. She glanced at her hand and smirked a little. "I'll summon a monster face down and place two cards face down. And I end my turn."

"A strong start." Professor Crowler nodded, adding his own personal commentary while a monster card and two others shimmered into existence in front of Sakura. The professor lifted his hand as he spoke. "Though elementary students know this, I'll reiterate for those of you who need to be reminded: It is never wise to start a duel without setting _anything_ on the field. If you can't manage a Monster or Trap, at least attempt to feint a defense!"

" _Move Declaration: Draw."_ The mechanical voice declared as a card slid out the deck into its hand. _"Scanning...Move Declaration: Summoning_ Sky Scout _to the field in attack position."_

A male humanoid creature with dark brown wings that sprouted from his back appeared on the field. A red claw-contraption on his right arm and dark leathers decorated his form. A red mask hid the Scout's face.

# Sky Scout: Level 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 600 #

" _Move Declaration: Activation of Field Spell:_ Harpies' Hunting Ground," the Duel Simulator said. _"With this, all Winged-Beasts gain an additional 200 attack and defense point. Also, if a Harpie Lady or Harpie Ladies Sisters is summoned, one spell/trap card on the field and destroy it."_

The classroom's floor changed into an open dirt field. Sakura clicked her tongue as she realized that she had to keep that particular event from occurring if she wanted to come out the victor of this match. The pink haired girl's troubles grew slightly when the Sky Scout that faced her held his arms out and powered up like something out of a ridiculous cartoon the boys watched.

# Sky Scout: Level 4; ATK: 2000; DEF: 800 #

"Wait! The activation of your Field Spell triggers one of my Trap Cards: Magic Drain!" Sakura cut in. She gestured at the face down on her left and it rose up to reveal a glowing blue ghoulish figure in the midst of draining a humanoid dry. The ghoul looked up from the card and pulled itself out, sniffing the air. Sakura cocked a small smirk. "You're stuck with a choice, bot. Discard a Spell Card if you can or you lose your Hunting Grounds."

" _Move Declaration: Cyber Shield discarded to prevent Harpies' Hunting Grounds' destruction,"_ the Duel Simulator announced. A risqué metal unitard with spikes appeared on the field and was snatched up by the ghoul. The ghoul retreated to its Trap Card, which then disappeared upon completion.

"Man, that would've been handy if she'd gotten rid of that Field Spell," Naruto said. He looked at Sasuke, who grunted in agreement, and took note of his scowl. "Eh? What's got your panties in a bunch?"

"She's playing with the machine." Sasuke grumbled. He folded his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. "Wake me up when the duel's over."

"Wow, real supportive, Sasuke," Naruto said. He chuckled at the middle finger sent his way and returned his attention to the duel when the Simulator spoke up again.

" _Move Declaration:_ Sky Scout _will now attack your face down,"_ the Duel Simulator said. The Second Year student kept her composure as the Scout flew at her and swung his right arm into her face down card was destroyed. The card reconfigured with its image visible to reveal a winged wreath with a glowing orb floating in the center of it.

"Thanks! By destroying my Nova Summoner I can summon a Fairy Type monster from my deck with fifteen attack or less," Sakura said with a grin. "I choose Freya, Spirit of Victory, who I will summon in defense mode!"

A spirited, periwinkle themed cheerleader appeared in a show of light. She bounced around, shaking her pom-poms in glee before she crouched onto one knee and shook her pompoms at her side

# Freya, Spirit of Victory; Level 1; ATK: 100; DEF: 100 #

"Oh my _god_ , she's so _god-damn_ cute!" A student in the front row exclaimed. A small murmur of agreement rippled through the class from a few other students. Crowler sighed and pointed at the boy.

"You owe me three additional pages of homework about the reasoning behind human aesthetic application to Monster Cards, Monsieur Dawson!"

"Ah, damn it!"

"Make it four pages," Crowler said with a sigh. He looked at Sakura. "Apologies, Madam Haruno. You may continue."

"Thank you Professor. My turn, I draw! First, I'll use special summon my Majestic Mech - Ohka thanks to its special ability," Sakura said as she set the monster on to her Duel Disk. In a flash of light, the mechanical white and red creature emerged. Its head floated up and down, held in place by an unseen force. Sakura smiled at the Fairy and then sighed. "Sadly, my Ohka isn't going to stay on the field for long. Because I sacrifice him to summon my Airknight Parshath!"

Ohka's body expanded into a burst of light as the armored centaur appeared in its place. Her feathered armor gave her regal and holy appearance. She drew the large sword from her side and let out a 'Ha!' when she brandished it towards Sky Scout.

# Airknight Parshath: Level 5; ATK: 1900; DEF: 1400 #

"Thanks to Freya's ability, Parshath's attack and defense is raised by four hundred points," Sakura said. Freya shook her pom-poms and a light descended from above onto the Airknight. Airknight gained a gentle smile and nodded gratefully at Freya, who beamed a smile back at her.

# Airknight Parshath: Level 5; ATK: 2300; DEF: 1800 #

"Now, Airknight Parshath, bring down Sky Scout! Cha!" Sakura ordered with an enthusiastic punch in the air.

Airknight Parshath brandished her sword and charged forward. She let out a battle cry and swung the blade, slicing through the stilled Sky Scout. The avian-human hybrid staggered back a few steps before he exploded into a shower of pixelated fragments.

D. Sim. LP: 4000 - 300 = 3700

Sakura LP: 4000

"Now thanks to my Airknight's ability, any time she causes you damage, I can draw one card." Sakura informed her audience and her opponent. She looked at her hand. Nobleman Crossout, Marshmallon, and Soul Of Purity And Light. There wasn't much more she could do now, so Sakura looked up and crossed her arms. "I end my turn. Your move."

" _Brava_! _Brava_! A good use of a turn!" Crowler praised with a smile. He turned to address the class. "Take note of her initial move this turn, a special summon _prior_ to the normal summon. Quite the inverse of most things you see. A great way to knock your opponent off guard!"

" _Move Declaration: Draw."_ The Duel Simulator intoned. _"Move Declaration: Summoning_ Cyber Harpie Lady _in attack position."_

A buxom humanoid creature with artificial winged and taloned limbs appeared on the field. She brandished a whip and cracked it, which caused it to become covered in electricity. The monster's curves got a wolf whistle from somewhere in the room, which made her scowl and glare out at the students.

# Cyber Harpie Lady: Level 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 1300 #

" _Move Declaration: Field Spell Effect activates."_

# Cyber Harpie Lady: Level 4; ATK: 2000; DEF: 1500 #

" _Move Declaration: Activating_ Harpies' Hunting Ground _to destroy opponent's face down card,"_ the Duel Simulator ordered. Cyber Harpie Lady looked at the face down card and flew at it with malicious intent.

"Sorry, but I'd rather use it than lose it!" Sakura declared. The card rose up when Sakura gestured to it. "You look like you could use a tan, Sparky. Here's a Solar Ray! For each Light Attribute Monster face up on my field, you lose six hundred Life Points. Thanks to my Airknight and Freya, you take twelve hundred points of damage!"

The Trap Card lifted on the field. Both of Sakura's monsters started to glow brightly, the released light becoming a beam and fired at the Duel Simulator. The machine crackled and fizzed as its Life Points dropped.

D. Sim. LP: 3700 - 1200 = 2500

Sakura LP: 4000

" _Calculating... Move Declaration: Activating, Spell Card:_ Elegant Egotist. _Move Declaration: Summoning_ Harpie Lady #1 _to the field. Special effect activates, all Wind attribute monsters gain an additional 300 attack and defense."_

Sakura clicked her tongue as the Cyber Harpie Lady and her alternate counterpart had a small veil of winds swirling around them.

#Cyber Harpie Lady; Level 4; ATK: 2300; DEF: 1800#

#Harpie Lady #1; Level 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 1700#

" _Move Declaration: Spell card activate:_ Cyber Shield. _Equip_ Cyber Shield _to_ Cyber Harpie Lady."

Cyber Harpie Lady looked down at herself as the spiked armor appeared on her form in a flash of light. She turned her body to examine how the armor fitted to her curves and smiled. A soft cackle escaped her lips as her attack power rose.

#Cyber Harpie Lady; Level 4; ATK: 2800; DEF: 1800#

"How vulgar." Sakura scowled in disgust at the sight of the lewd armor. Her eye twitched when the Harpie smirked at her and began to make suggestive poses. Sakura bristled and she glared at Professor Crowler. "Professor!"

"I wasn't the designer of the cards, Madam Haruno!" Crowler defended himself with his hands raised in front of him. He turned and glared at the Harpie, who winked at him. Crowler recoiled and coughed into his fist. "J-Just get on with it!"

" _Move Declaration:_ Cyber Harpie Lady _attacks_ Airknight Parshath, _"_ said the Duel Simulator. Cyber Harpie Lady cracked her whip to ignite it. She launched herself at the centaur and reared her weapon back. With a shrill shriek, the whip was flung forward and cut through Airknight Parshath, causing the Fairy to explode into particles.

Sakura shielded her face from the attack's result and grimaced as her life points dropped.

D. Sim. LP: 2500

Sakura LP: 4000 - 500 = 3500

" _Move Declaration:_ Harpie Lady #1 _attacks_ Freya, Spirit of Victory, _"_ the Duel Simulator said.

Harpie Lady #1 leapt forward at the cheerleader. Freya's eyes widened in horror and she crossed her arms in front of her. The makeshift defense did little as the Winged-Beast destroyed the Fairy in a single slash of her talons.

"No!" Dawson cried out in horror. He burst into sobs and slammed his fist on the desk. "Damn you, you soulless machine! God damn you to Hell!"

"Make that _five_ pages, Monsieur Dawson," Crowler said while he pinched the bridge of his nose and his class laughed at Dawson's pain. The professor sighed and folded his arms as he looked at the girl when the machine declared the end of its turn. "The Simulator has left you defenseless, Madam Haruno. Hopefully, you have something in mind to come back from this."

"It may have cleared my field, but I'm not done yet," Sakura said as she drew from her deck. She looked over her hand and rearranged it to her liking. "I'll place a monster face down and then special summon my Soul Of Purity And Light by removing Nova and Freya from my graveyard!"

From a glowing circle in front of Sakura rose a transparent angel. Her body shimmered with a rainbow like one would see from a running hose. The angel smiled gently at her opponents, but hovered in front of Sakura with her wings spread slightly.

# Soul Of Purity And Light: Level 6; ATK: 2000; DEF: 1800 #

"Now, Soul Of Purity And Light, destroy Harpie Lady #1!" Sakura ordered with a gesture at the Winged Beast.

The angelic creature nodded and vanished from sight. Harpie Lady #1 grew alarmed and looked around worriedly before going still and shrieking. Soul Of Purity And Light reappeared on the field with her arm phased through the back of the harpy. Harpie Lady #1 exploded into particles.

"It was still too good for her!"

"Monsieur Dawson, you must really enjoy writing! Now you get to write _ten_ pages for me!" Crowler chirped. The student in question became pale while the Duel Simulator's Life Points dropped and Soul Of Purity And Light returned to Sakura's side of the field.

D. Sim. LP: 2500 - 200 = 2300

Sakura LP: 3500

"And before I end my turn, I'll put one card face down," Sakura said as she placed a card in her Duel Disk, which then manifested in front of her. She crossed her arms and gestured to the machine. "Your turn."

" _Move Declaration: Draw,"_ the Duel Simulator pulled a card from its deck. Another moved to one of the blank monster spaces. _"Move Declaration: Summoning_ Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon. _"_

A small red wyvern adorned with jewelry and a collar rose up from the field. The few other girls in the class cooed at the creature when it chirped and cawed while it rubbed its eyes.

Naruto bit down on his lip and patted Poki, seated on his lap, on the head. He might have had a soft spot for the infant dragons. A secret soft spot, for those who didn't know him at least, that had existed ever since he first saw Joey Wheeler's Baby Dragon become Thousand Dragon. That duel was still one of his favorites to rewatch.

# Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon; Level 4; ATK: 1200; DEF: 600 #

"Not so fast, I active my face down card Forced Back," Sakura said as the trap card flipped up. She grinned. "I've dueled with my friend long enough to know what a pain little dragons can be. Your little wyrm is going right back to your hand."

A pellet shot out from the card and landed in front of the Pet Baby Dragon. The little creature leaned forward to sniff the pellet when it exploded in the dragon's face. The little wyvern let out a squeaky roar as it vanished from the field.

" _Move Declaration:_ Cyber Harpie Lady _attacks_ Soul Of Purity And Light."

Cyber Harpie Lady rushed forward again with her lit whip, but then fell from the air with a confused grimace on her face.

"Looks like you didn't do your homework," Sakura said. She grinned and pointed at the dumbfounded Cyber Harpie Lady. "While Soul is face up during your attack phase, all of your creatures lose three hundred attack points."

# Cyber Harpie Lady; Level 4; ATK: 2200; DEF: 1500 #

"Unfortunately, it seems to still have enough power to destroy your monster," Crowler said with a dramatic sigh. He turned his head away from the explosion that came when Cyber Harpie Lady's whip took out Sakura's Soul Of Purity And Light.

D. Sim. LP: 2300

Sakura LP: 3500 - 200 = 3300

Cyber Harpie Lady returned to the simulator's side of the field. She straightened up as her attack points returned to normal.

# Cyber Harpie Lady; Level 4; ATK: 2500; DEF: 1800 #

"My turn, draw!" Sakura looked at the card she pulled and beamed a wide smile. "Better pack a slicker for your motherboard, because I'm washing your advantage away. I activate Heavy Storm! Say goodbye to your skank attire and hunting ground."

From the manifested Spell Card came a sudden storm, with winds that were strong enough to return the field to the classroom and remove the spiked armor from Cyber Harpie Lady.

# Cyber Harpie Lady; Level 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 1300 #

"While it may not be much, that still helps me out enough for now," Sakura said. "I end my turn."

" _Move Declaration: Draw. Move Declaration: Summoning_ Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon, _"_ The Duel Simulator said. The successful summon this time around had the Pet Baby Dragon shrieking a squeak roar at Sakura.

"Man, even so small they're still so prideful." Naruto chuckled as he rubbed Poki on the head. Poki growled and the blond laughed. "Yes, even you! _Especially_ you!"

# Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon; Level 4; ATK: 1200; DEF: 600 #

" _Move Declaration:_ Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon _attacks facedown monster."_

"Oh no!" Sakura mock gasped and held a hand to her cheek. The false horror fell away to vicious grin. "Sorry, but it looks like you rushed right in without thinking. Again."

"What a digital dummy!" Naruto jeered from his seat.

"Monsieur Uzumaki, would you like more homework as well? I can assign a paper to explain the intricate rules and risks in attacking set monster cards," Crowler said. Naruto's mouth shut with an audible click. Crowler nodded and looked back at the duel, watching the fireball that the Harpies' Pet Baby Dragon launch strike the set monster.

The card was destroyed, but reassembled to reveal a white puff blob.

#Marshmallon; Level 3; ATK: 300; DEF: 500#

"Thanks to my favorite creampuff, you lose a thousand Life Points for attacking him when he was facedown!" Sakura explained. The monster floated over to hover in front of the Duel Simulator and kissed it.

D. Sim. LP: 2300 - 1000 = 1300

Sakura LP: 3300

"Best part is, Marshmallon can't be destroyed in battle so I'm safe for now."

" _Move Declaration: One card set. Turn End."_

"Alright, it's time to end this," Sakura said on her draw. She set the drawn card in her hand and pulled out another. "I'm going to play the spell card Premature Burial. And with it, I'll bring back my Airknight at the cost of some Life Points."

D. Sim. LP: 1300

Sakura LP: 3300 - 800 = 2500

Airknight Parshath clawed her way up from the ground and stood back in front of Sakura.

# Airknight Parshath: Level 5; ATK: 1900; DEF: 1400 #

"Parshath, attack Harpies' Pet Baby Dragon!" Sakura ordered with a smile. The Airknight drew her sword and charged forward at the red wyvern. Just before the Airknight's attack could find any merit, the Duel Simulator's face down card flipped up to reveal several cloaked individuals.

" _Move Declaration: Trap card activated!_ Waboku. _All attacks neutralized this turn."_

The cloaked individuals clasped their hands together in prayer and a magical shield appeared in front of Harpies' Baby Dragon.

"Tch, lucky break." Sakura frowned as her turn ended.

" _Move Declaration: Draw. Summoning monster face down. Turn end."_

"As you can see class, despite Madam Haruno having such a powerful monster on the field, the simulator refused to change Pet Dragon or Cyber Harpie into defense mode due to Airknight Parshath's pierce ability. Truly it seems the simulator is in dire straights." Crowler said with a raised finger. "Though it did prepare a face down in spite of this. And as we've seen from Madam Haruno's

"My move," Sakura said with a draw. She pulled another spell from her hand and brandished it for the simulator to see. "I'll activate the spell Nobleman's Crossout and use it to take care of that facedown monster!"

The monster revealed itself to be Harpie Lady #3, a blue haired variant of the Harpie family. The spell's Nobleman, who simply stepped forward and took hold of the Harpie's arm before it escorted her politely into a portal, removed the blue haired Harpie from the field.

"Well, now, that had to be the most polite banishment I'd ever seen," Crowler said with a thoughtful hum. "I may have to get a hold of one of those spells."

"Next," Sakura said, ignoring the Professor's musing. "I'll equip my Airknight with the equip spell Cestus of Dagla. Which boosts its attack by five hundred!"

Airknight Parshath slid the sword back to her hip and the two bladed weapons appeared in her hands. She made a few experimental punches before she took on a ready stance.

# Airknight Parshath: Level 5; ATK: 2400; DEF: 1400 #

"Now Airknight, attack the Pet Dragon and get it off the field, cha!" Sakura ordered with an enthusiastic punch.

The elegant centaur charged forward and swung her bladed fist at the chained baby dragon. Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon let out a cry as it was shattered into pixels.

D. Sim. LP: 1300 - 1200 = 100

Sakura LP: 2500

Up in his seat, Naruto muffled a laugh when Poki turned around and burrowed into his stomach. He patted the little drake's back to reassure that it would be fine.

"But that's not all," Sakura said as her Airknight returned to stand in front of her. "Due to the Cestus' effect, I gain Life Points equal to what you lost."

D. Sim. LP: 100

Sakura LP: 2500 + 1200 = 3700

"And with that, I'll end my turn."

" _Move Declaration: Draw!"_ The Simulator drew a card and then moved it to the field. _"Move Declaration: Set one monster. Turn end."_

"Draw!" Sakura drew her card and set it in her hand. She folded her cards up and smirked. "Nice game computer, but I'm ending that feather hag here and now. Airknight, destroy Cyber Harpie Lady!"

Cyber Harpie Lady grew alarmed when the Airknight charged at her with a gleam in her normally calm eyes. Airknight wasn't very keen on being destroyed by the monster, and showed her disapproval as she stopped short and turned on her front hooves to buck a kick square into the harpy's gut. Cyber Harpie Lady didn't even get a chance to express her pain before she exploded into pixels.

D. Sim. LP: 100 - 600 = 0

Sakura LP: 3700

"That's my win," Sakura sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Wow, it got a little scary there for a minute."

"Congratulations Madam Haruno, you defeated Mai Valentine's deck at medium difficulty!" Crowler praised with a polite applause that soon rippled through the classroom while the Simulator folded up and ducked back into the ceiling. "You've got a very promising career ahead of you as a duelist!"

"Thank you, Professor." Sakura bowed and went back to her seat. She grinned and accepted Naruto's high five for the win, but frowned at seeing Sasuke sleeping. She gave the dark haired boy a 'playful' punch to the arm that forced him out of his seat.

"...Ow." Sasuke muttered from where he landed on the floor. Unseen by the others save Naruto, Poki snickered at the reaction, and the boy felt as though he was being mocked.

* * *

"Ah, now that was a nice shower," Naruto said as he walked back into his room clad in orange T-shirt and black running shorts. He looked around and hummed. Rickie and Ronnie were still out, which meant he was free to do whatever he pleased. Or he would've been, had his PDA not started to go off.

"Aw, man, where'd I put that thing?" Naruto asked as he began to search the small room. Poki Draco appeared at his side before running over to the desk. It pulled the drawer open and then fell. Poki's squawk of pain made Naruto turn to him. He sighed and scooped his duel spirit up before he grabbed his PDA from the drawer.

"Thanks bud," he whispered before answering the call. "Yello? Greatest duelist on the island speaking~!"

"Naruto, shut up. I have two of your freshmen here. Outside the girls' dorm. _My_ dorm!"

"Two of my freshmen?"

"That kid that beat Professor Crowler's deck and Zane's little brother."

"...Zane has a brother?" Naruto asked and shared a look with his surprised duel spirit. Both were dumbfounded.

"Yes."

"In _Slifer_?"

"Yes!"

"And they went to your dorm at night to peep on girls…" Naruto stroked his chin. "Huh, I didn't know Jaden had it in him."

"Yuki was only here to duel my junior," Sakura said. "After she and her friends caught Zane's brother. Look, I barely managed to keep Fontaine from coming to find out about them being here, but she won't be stay away for long, so you have to come do something about it!"

"...They can't even peep right! Ugh, I'm going to have to show them how to do _everything_ , aren't I?"

" _What_?"

"Er, I mean, I'll have to scold them and give them both firm smacks upside the head for their naughty behavior," Naruto said with a nervous laugh.

"Just come pick them up you dunderhead or they'll get expelled!"

Naruto grimaced and he held the PDA as far as he could away from his ear.

"Fine! Fine! Just give me two minutes." He hung up on Sakura before she could continue ranting on him. Naruto scratched the back of his head and then shook it as he began to look around for some clothes to wear. "The set of lungs on her and her freakish strength, what was I thinking crushing on her? Man, do I feel sorry for the guy she dates, though."

* * *

It wasn't exactly a hop, skip, and a jump to get to the Girls' Dorm, let alone sneak past all the surveillance cameras. How Jaden and Zane's brother did it, Naruto could only imagine. He felt his respect for them grow in that regard, but still, they got him in trouble with Sakura by affiliation, so he'd show them what for. Naruto emerged from the woods just in time to see Jaden's duel disk deactivate.

"It was a nice duel Alexis, we should do it again some time." Jaden said, grinning like a hyped up Kuriboh on coffee. Across from him were a 'blessed' blonde, two other Obelisk Beauties, and a mildly annoyed Sakura. She loved her sleep and hated when it was interrupted.

"Aw, man, did I miss the duel?" Naruto asked as he got closer to the clearing.

"Kyaa! Another one!" A brunette exclaimed.

"Seriously, where do they keep coming from?" The other girl asked aloud.

"Girls, relax. I called this one to pick these two idiots up." Sakura assured them as she crossed her arms. She glared at the sheepish blond. "You're late, Naruto."

"I sprinted here woman!" Naruto tossed his hands in the air. "And had to be ninja! Do you know how hard that is? They upped the security!"

"Your skills must be slipping," Sakura huffed. Naruto gawked at his friend while the girls snickered. A little teal haired dwarf ran behind him and Jaden walked up to the blond.

"Hey Naruto! You missed a sick duel, bro," Jaden said in his usual jovial tone.

"And I have much to scold you over," Naruto said as he wrapped his arms around both boys' necks. He pulled them into a huddle and hissed. "The next time you go peeping, you let me know."

"B-B-But I didn't, that's not what happened! I swear!" The runt shook his head and struggled in the older boy's headlock.

"Liar." Naruto tightened his hold, causing the boy to gasp for air.

"Aw, what harm happened? All's settled and I got to have an awesome duel. A win-win I'd say!" Jaden grinned. Naruto started cut off Jaden's air supply, too.

"Come on, Chuckleheads. We'll have a second initiation for this. I hear Stickman found a Banner approved Initiation Stick," the whiskered blond said.

"NO-O-O!" The boys cried as Naruto pulled them away. Sakura rolled her eyes at the dramatics and turned back to her juniors, who were whispering in a huddle while Alexis shook her head.

"What are you two talking about?" She asked. The two juniors looked at her with smiles.

"Your boyfriend's pretty cute," the brunette said. Sakura blinked and then started to laugh. She wrapped her hands on her stomach and laughed long and hard.

"Oh-ho-ha-hoo, boy I needed that," Sakura said as she wiped a tear from her eye. She looked at the two confused girls. "Listen, Jasmine. I know you and Cindy-"

"It's Mindy," the other girl pouted.

"Sorry," Sakura said with an apologetic smile. She looked back at Jasmine. "I know you and Mindy are all over the place going boy crazy, but me and Naruto are just friends. He's practically my brother at this point."

"You don't think he's cute?" Jasmine asked.

"Eh, he's a six at most," Sakura said.

"But the whiskers!" Mindy protested.

"Fine, a seven."

Alexis chuckled and started to usher her two friends back inside with Sakura's help.

"Enough guy talk, girls. It's been lights out for a half hour now," she said. She smiled at the older student. "Thanks for helping us out, Sakura."

"Don't worry about it, Alexis. And please, you two, if you do want to pursue the dope, that's fine, but be careful," Sakura said as she walked the three freshmen in.

"Why?" Mindy asked. She hugged herself. "He's not...abusive, is he?"

"Naruto's probably the nicest guy on campus, as long as you don't insult his dorm, his name, or his Ramen," Sakura said. She shivered. "It's the _other_ thing you need to worry about."

"Does he have an addiction?" Jasmine asked, still fishing as they walked into the dorm's main hall.

"To Ramen, but that's not the point. Look, it's late. I'll tell you about his stalker tomorrow," Sakura said as she began to walk up the steps. She wasn't aware that all three of the girls, even Alexis, had stopped in their tracks. The trio of girls shared shocked looks with one another.

"Stalker?!"

* * *

 **AN: Again, sorry for the lack of another back and forth. Both Engineer4Ever and BonesBoy15 are a tad busy with real life problems.**

 **Y'all know what we want you to do!**

 **REVIEW!**


	3. Ra-Turn to Yellow!

**AN: Hey all, BB15 here with an update on the joint page. I'm back in school (I'm starting to think I'll never leave...), so my writing has taken a small hit. In regards to Naruto's deck theme, that's answered in this chapter, and explained in depth down at the end.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: We don't own** _ **Naruto**_ **or** _ **Yu-Gi-Oh!**_ **. Please support the official release.**

 **A Kross Kings production.**

 **The Gentle Tyrant**

 **Third Turn: Ra-Turn To Yellow!**

* * *

"Do you smell that Chumley?" Naruto asked as he took a deep inhale. He and Chumley were hanging out in the latter's dorm room, both waiting for their exams to begin. First years had their exams the earliest and Jaden had rushed out not five minutes prior. He received a quick 'good luck' from the chipper blond before he was left in the dust.

"My dirty socks?" Chumley asked while he half-heartedly went over his notes. He was fine in Slifer Red, his classes wouldn't change if he was promoted, so all he had to do was do well enough in his duel. Hence, his lackluster attitude towards studying.

"No, it's the scent of change, of renew, of promotion!" Naruto began. He held his hand up and balled it into a fist. "Today's the day I go back to Ra Yellow!"

"...You'll still swing by here, won't you?" Chumley asked.

"Wha-Of course I will!" Naruto grinned at the rotund teen. "I gotta bring you your grilled cheese, right?"

"And that is why you're my friend," Chumley said with a chuckle.

"Aw, Chumley, you big ol' softy."

"Just don't let those runts know." The koala-like boy chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. He sat back and crossed his arms. "So, what's your biggest concern this time around?"

"The same as it was the last four times: Who I'm dueling," Naruto said. He lost his carefree grin and crossed his arms. "Last time I went up against Sasuke, but now that he's in the Obelisk dorm, it's unlikely I'll get to face him again until the next go around."

"So, maybe some guy from Ra?" Chumley asked. Naruto shrugged.

"Or Crowler is still hellbent on me from annoying him from last year. Though he seems to hate Jaden after the kid whooped his main deck. ...Something I still can't find in the archives!" Naruto growled.

"He probably deleted them," Chumley said with a shrug.

"That is a total abuse of authority." Naruto pouted, but he perked up a moment later. "Still, whoever I face, man, they're going to have one hell of a duel!"

* * *

"I demand to duel that punk, Uzumaki!" A pair of hands slammed down onto Professor Crowler's desk. The effeminate man looked up from his current grading papers and blinked.

"Monsieur von Schroeder, you are a third year student, one of my Obelisks, no less. There is no need for you to duel Monsieur Uzumaki. Though I understand that you could be upset with him, since he so easily strikes a nerve." Professor Crowler pursed his painted lips. He sat back in his chair and sighed while he rubbed his temples. "Mamamiya, why is it that my students wish to duel those far below them as of late? First Monsieur Princeton and now you? Monsieur Princeton already lost to that wretched Jaden Yuki, I cannot risk _another_ stain on my dorm!"

"Princeton was a pompous little fool." Kenneth von Schroeder scoffed. "I'm a third year with _plenty_ of experience and I've even made a counter to that dragon boy's deck with my own cards!"

"...You _have_?" Professor Crowler asked, his ears perked up. He sat forward in his chair and interlaced his hands beneath his chin as a wicked smile spread across his face. "Do tell, Monsieur von Schroeder."

Ken smiled in return as he began to tell the Dorm Head his strategy. Both felt their smiles widen as the conversation went on. However, they missed a silhouette standing outside the door, listening closely to their supposed private conversation.

* * *

"Alright, well, the hard part is over, Poki." Naruto muttered to his partner. The little dragon once more perched onto his shoulder, eating a translucent version of the fruit depicted on his card. The blond chuckled and flicked at the dragon's tail while he walked down the hall towards the dueling arena. "Lil' glutton. Come on, let's go see how the freshmen did."

"You missed the best match already," Sasuke said. Naruto jumped and turned around to glare at his best friend. Poki joined him, since the startle had made him choke on his fruit for a minute.

"Dude! You need a bell!" He accused before the words registered in his head. "Wait, what? Who and who?"

"Some runt from my dorm and that kid you've gotten friendly with. Judai?"

"Jaden. Jaden!? Aw, man!" Naruto whined, his shoulders slumped. Poki slipped from his perch, but caught the back of Naruto's jacket before he fell. The blond groaned and rubbed his face. "And here I told the kid I'd root for him."

"He won."

"Without me there to cheer and support, and-!"

"You just want a gofer at Slifer dorm." Sasuke deadpanned.

"You can't prove anything!"

Sasuke arched a brow.

"Please, don't tell Sakura." Naruto requested with his hands pressed together. Poki mimicked him, but the action was lost on the raven-haired boy.

"I won't." Sasuke smirked and began to walk towards the duel arena with his friend. They walked in silence for a moment before Sasuke broke it. "A head's up, you might want to use _those_ cards."

Naruto stopped in his tracks and looked at Sasuke in confusion. The Obelisk stopped and met his friend's gaze with a dry one. He often forgot that Naruto needed all the information to see underneath a situation.

"You'd think the man would let go of a grudge, but he's still out for your blood after the Cologne Incident last year," Sasuke said.

"...He didn't hire a pro to duel me, did he?"

"Now you're giving him too much credit." Sasuke scoffed at the notion. "You're not worth that much anyway."

"Hey! I'm at least in Mako Tsunami's price range," Naruto protested. He crossed his arms and sniffed when his friend snorted. "Jerk. See if I suggest you as Zane's replacement for School Rep this year."

"I don't _want_ to be representative," Sasuke said with a groan. He shook his head. "Look, we're getting off track. Get _those_ cards in working order and I'll contact you before you're supposed to duel. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah-Hey, wait! You just want me to miss out on everyone else's duels!" Naruto accused. He scowled at the Obelisk Blue. "Trying to keep me in the Red so we don't face off? What's wrong, Sasuke, afraid of a little yellow jacket?"

"No!" Sasuke's hasty answer in regard to the last question made Naruto smirk. He knew that his friend hated the Ra _Yellow_ jacket because it clashed with Sasuke's look and style. The Obelisk student shook his head and grabbed onto Naruto's collar. "Listen, I'm trying to help you, you paranoid idiot!"

"I'll show you who's an idiot, you bastard!" Naruto growled back as he grabbed Sasuke's collar. They butted their heads together and glared into each other's eyes. Their locked gazes were so intense that it appeared as though bolts of lightning flickered between them.

Poki had chosen this time to jump on Naruto's face and push him away from his rival. The attempt caused the whiskered boy to splutter and back away from his frival while he fought with the spirit on his face. Only after the little dragon gave him a nice wet lick on the face did he manage to pry Poki off.

"Gah! Don't do that!" Naruto wiped his mouth with the back of his arm while he held Poki under the other.

"Do...what?" Sasuke asked. He hadn't even done anything else, yet. The Obelisk student blinked and stared at the empty space Naruto's arm encircled. For a moment, he thought it looked like there was something in his friend's arm. He rubbed his eyes and the thing was gone.

"Nothing, so use _those_ cards, huh?" Naruto asked. He frowned. "I thought we agreed to save those for the festival?"

"Trust me," Sasuke said. He patted Naruto on the shoulder. "If it makes you feel better, I'll use mine in my evaluation duel."

"Alright, but you'd better win fast, bastard." Naruto offered his hand. Sasuke cracked a small smile and clasped his friend's hand.

"I'll be done before you even make your first draw," he said. The two rivals grinned at each other, both eager for their next sanctioned duel against each other.

* * *

"Aw, c'mon, Poki! Don't be like that," Naruto said to his Duel Spirit. They were walking through the Academy halls back towards the dueling arena after a quick detour to the Slifer Dorm. The whiskered blond frowned at Poki. "It's not like I wanted to remove your duplicates from the deck! It would've gone against regulations, and I need the space for the others!"

The little dragon turned his head away from the duelist with a huff. It was amusing, considering the little dragon was perched on Naruto's shoulder. The blond scratched his head and looked at the drake.

"Listen, bud, I'd leave your 'clones' in if I could, but at least you can give me a shuffle if I need it," Naruto said. He reached up and poked the chubby wyrm in the side. Poki squirmed and flailed his arms at the blond's ticklish assault. Naruto grinned and pulled his hand away when Poki started to chirp. "We good?"

" _Kroo~_ " Poki relented.

"Glad to hear it! Now let's go ace this test!" Naruto pumped his fist and Poki cheered. They rounded a corner and came to an abrupt halt when the sound of laughter hit their ears. Naruto's eyes narrowed on the cause and Poki growled.

"A Slifer Slacker? _Acing_ a test? That might actually be the funniest joke I've heard in a long time," Professor Crowler said. He wiped a tear away from his eye and smirked at the teen. "When that day comes, I will be the headmaster of the Academy."

"You do remember that I was in Ra before, right?" Naruto pointed out, his eyes flat.

"And look where you are now. My how arrogance makes one fall," Crowler said with a smirk.

"Uh-huh," Naruto said. He buffed his fingers on his chest. "Why did you remove the recordings of the last entrance exam you partook in?"

Crowler turned around to bite into his pink handkerchief and hissed in rage. Naruto shared a knowing grin with his snickering duel spirit.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," he said. Naruto slipped his hands into his pockets and walked around the seething professor. "Now if you'll excuse me, _Ma'am_ , I have a duel to win."

"We'll see about that, _Uzumaki_ ," Crowler said as he glared at the boy's back. He would never forgive that little brat for his prank. His beautiful poetry collection, all ruined!

"Well, that was something," Naruto said as he walked up onto the stage. He glanced around the room and frowned when he saw Sasuke seated beside Sakura. "Crap. He really did go through with his before I could even draw."

A few soft cheers came from a small section near his two best friends, and Naruto turned to spot some of the friends he made while he was a Slifer Red. Jaden, Syrus and Chumley were seated a row behind Naruto's current roommates, Reggie and Ronnie. A glance behind them showed an Obelisk girl, Atticus' sister Alexis if he remembered correctly as well as her two friends, and on Alexis' other side was a first year Ra Yellow student. A numerical genius named Bastion Misawa.

"C'mon Naruto! Show them what Slifer Red is capable of!" Jaden cheered. Naruto chuckled and shook his head.

 _Sorry kid, not dueling for the Reds today._ He thought as he accepted the tournament style Duel Disk and inserted his deck. Gasps rang through the crowd when Naruto's opponent stepped onto the field. Naruto stared, confused at the glare sent his way.

"Whoa, what'd I ever do to you?" he asked. The opposing third year Obelisk Blue snarled.

"You can't be serious...You don't remember me?"

"Am I supposed to?" Naruto asked.

"It's me. Ken," the boy, Ken, said. He ground his teeth together at the confused blink. "Kenneth von Schroeder! We dueled literally two days ago!"

"That sounds familiar." Naruto squinted his eyes and racked his brain. He scratched his head. "Sorry, man, I've had a lot on my mind today. How'd the duel end?"

"I'm going to make you pay for insulting me!" Kenneth snarled and activated his Duel Coat. The centerpiece light ignited and from his side, a robotic arm brought forth the card platform from behind. "Let's duel, _Slacker_."

"Mr. von Schroeder, were you even given permission to duel a Slifer Red?" One of the proctor overseers asked from the front row. He had a large bandage slapped across his face and scraggly dark hair. Beside him was a similar aged man with a bandanna on his head. Both were dressed in the DA proctor greens.

"Détendez-vous, Kotetsu," Crowler said as he fell into his seat beside Chancellor Shepard. He smiled toothily at the two boys on the field. "I've approved this event like I did the last. To show that not _all_ Slifer Reds are superior to my Obelisk Blues."

"Very well, if you say so, Professor Crowler," the proctor, Kotetsu, said with a shrug. He sat back and intertwined his fingers behind his head. The bandanna-wearing beside him looked at the blond.

"Is this alright to you, Mr. Uzumaki?"

"Sure thing, Izumo-er, I mean, Mr. Kamizuki," Naruto said when the Proctor gave him a warning look. He grinned at his opponent and activated his Duel Disk. "Since I'm so nice, I'll even let him go first."

"I'm going to clean the floor with your tears, Slifer!" Ken declared as he and Naruto drew their hands. Both boys locked gazes.

"DUEL!"

Ken LP: 4000

Naruto LP: 4000

Naruto glanced at his hand: Masked Dragon, Poki Draco, Molten Destruction, Lightning Vortex, UFO Turtle. He cracked a small grin when Poki Draco's smile in the card's art widened and it lifted its fruit.

 _Not too shabby. How's it going buddy? Everyone getting along?_

 _Kroo~!_ The tiny dragon chirped. Poki emerged from the card and settled itself onto the duelist's shoulder with its fruit still in claw.

"Glad to hear it. Let's win this and get back to our dorm." Naruto whispered to his Duel Spirit before he looked back at his opponent. "You about ready to get started? Or do you need some more time?"

"You're right, for once. It's past time for me to put you in your place, Slacker," Ken said as he drew a card from his deck. He set the card in his hand and grabbed another with a confident smile. "I'll start things off by setting a monster and I'll put down a face down."

The two face down cards appeared on the field, one a horizontal monster and the other a vertical Trap or Spell, before the Obelisk ended his turn.

"Finally. I draw," Naruto said. His grin widened and he held it out towards his opponent. "Time to crank it up a bit. First, I'm going to summon my Masked Dragon in attack mode!"

A bone white and salmon dragon emerged onto the field. Beady green eyes glared at Ken and the dragon's massive maw opened to absurd proportions to release a loud roar. It settled into place in front of Naruto, it's wings spread just slightly.

# Masked Dragon: Level 3; ATK: 1400; DEF: 1100 #

"Next up is a favorite Spell of mine! I activate Dragon's Gunshot!" Naruto slid the Spell Card into his Duel Disk's slot and a fire built up in his monster's mouth. "I can only activate this spell when I have a dragon-type on the field. It has two effects, but for the sake of simplicity I'm going to use the direct damage one to brighten up your day. Masked Dragon, bring down his Life Points!"

The Masked Dragon reared its head back and released a massive fireball with a flap of its wings. The blast caused Ken to use one of his arms as a makeshift guard while the other kept a firm grip on the Duel Coat's card platform. Ken grit his teeth as the slight jolt rocked his body.

Ken LP: 4000 - 800 = 3200

"Explaining that spell to me again. Now I know you're messing with me!" Ken snarled. He cut his free arm across the air in front of him. "Knock it off!"

"I seriously have no idea what you're talking about," Naruto said with a shrug. He pointed at the face-down defensive monster. "Masked Dragon, attack his face down monster! Boiling Bones Blast!"

The Masked Dragon built up a white energy in its mouth that escaped through cracks in the teeth. When its mouth opened again, a large beam of superheated flames rushed forth and crashed through the face down, which flipped up to reveal the Armed Samurai - Ben Kei. The card shattered into pixels.

"Whoa, deja vu." Naruto blinked at the card. He shook the feeling off and crossed his arms. "Anyway, with that said and done, I end my turn."

"Good! Because it's time to give Ben Kei some payback," Ken said with a snarl. He drew a card and smirked. He held the card out. "First, I'm going to discard my Electric Virus from my hand."

A small yellow sprite of electricity sparked into existence on the field as soon as Ken slid the card into his Graveyard. It cackled and darted around in one place before it locked onto Masked Dragon. The red eyed little creature's smile became very wide.

"Now that I did that, my little spark allows me to take control of one machine or dragon type monster from your side of the field." Ken let a malicious smile spread across his face. "Take a guess at what type I want."

"Aw, crap-baskets." Naruto muttered. Poki buried his face into the blond's hair as the electric monster surged forward. The Slifer balled his free hand into a fist when the monster merged itself with Masked Dragon. The white and red drake roared in pain before it shifted to Ken's side of the field, its eyes a sickly yellow instead of their original green.

"And next, I'll summon my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in attack mode!" Ken declared as he placed another card onto the field. An armored elf appeared beside Naruto's controlled dragon. A large broadsword in its hand.

# Obnoxious Celtic Guardian; Level 4; ATK: 1400; DEF: 1200 #

"Hmm...It looks like you left yourself wide open, Slacker. Tut tut, let's give you a reminder why you shouldn't do that," Ken said with a shake of his hand. He smirked and made a grandiose gesture towards Naruto. "Now, my Monsters, attack Uzumaki's Life Points directly!"

Masked Dragon hesitated for a brief moment before it unleashed a Boiling Bones Blast at Naruto's feet. Naruto crossed his arms in front of himself and grit his teeth as his body was rocked by the explosion. When he lowered his guard, his eyes went wide as the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian dropped down with its sword above its head. Naruto let out a yell when the slash went through.

Naruto LP: 4000 - 1400 - 1400 = 1200

"Ooh, that's gotta hurt!" Jaden winced when he saw the blow knock Naruto off his feet. He was lucky he got to use his issued Duel Disk and not the tournament style Duel Disk the blond had. Those tended to add a bit of kick to a duel for the many spectators.

"Oh, no, I can't look. Tell me when it's over." The blue-haired shorty that was Syrus Truesdale implored. He covered his eyes with his hands, but continued to peek through his fingers.

"Fret not, Syrus. This is only the third turn," the eloquent Bastion Misawa said with crossed arms.

"Still, that Uzumaki guy is at a huge disadvantage, Bastion," Alexis Rhodes said. She narrowed her eyes at him as he got back to his feet. She overheard her friends Mindy and Jasmine whispering to each other and then glanced at her senior, Sakura Haruno. Sakura and her tall, dark and rude associate had unwavering gazes locked on the field. They didn't look worried in the slightest.

"Misawa's right, Rhodes," Chumley said from his seat on Syrus' other side, drawing the groups' gaze down to him. He was leaning forward in his seat, his eyes glued to the match, an oddity to anyone that knew the normally apathetic or borderline depressed boy. "This duel just got started."

"Okay, that was _not_ fun." Naruto grunted and got back to his feet. As he did, Poki whimpered out frightful chirps and then growled at the glaring Celt. Naruto waved him off and kept his gaze locked on his opponent. "It's okay buddy, relax. We'll get through this yet."

"I'll end my turn, you can have your worthless handbag back." Ken mocked as Masked Dragon flew back to Naruto's side of the field. It shook its head once more to clear away the fog and glanced back at Naruto with green eyes.

"No hard feelings, M.D., I'm glad to have you back on my side," Naruto said with a smile. He looked past the Dragon and glared at Ken, while Masked Dragon did the same with an audible growl, a fact not missed by the proctors. "Alright, guys, let's cook this loser! I Draw!"

The card drawn made Naruto grin again. He held it out and Ken scowled.

"I activate my Pot of Greed and draw two cards." Naruto let the massive green Pot manifest in front of him before he drew. He grinned at his luck and looked up at the sky. "Whoever's out there watching over me, thanks!"

"You ready to submit, Slacker? But we only just got started," Ken said with a smirk. Naruto chuckled and moved the cards in his hand around.

"Nah, just thanking whatever out there is the cause of my good luck," he said. He shook a finger at Ken when the boy opened his mouth. "Ah, ah, ah. That would be telling! Just be patient and for now, pay attention. Masked Dragon looks a bit annoyed and lonely, so let's bring out a cousin to cheer him up! I summon Element Dragon to the field!"

Naruto slapped the monster card down onto his duel disk and on the field beside Masked Dragon came another red drake. This one had teal wings, a beak-like mouth, a mane of light brown fur sprouting from its head, and large blue eyes. The slightly larger dragon roared its presence, gaining some murmurs from the watching students.

# Element Dragon; Level 4; ATK: 1500; DEF: 1200 #

"My Element Dragon has two effects based on the attributes of the monsters around her," Naruto said. He grinned when Masked Dragon and Element Dragon growled at each other before they faced Ken and flared their wings. "See, when Element Dragon's on the field with a Monster that has a Fire Attribute, she gains an extra five-hundred attack points!"

# Element Dragon; Level 4; ATK: 1500 + 500 = 2000; DEF: 1200 #

"Hey Masked Dragon, you want some payback for the mind control?" Naruto asked. Masked Dragon roared and the whiskered blond grinned. "Yeah, that's what I thought. I activate a second Dragon's Gunshot! Light him up, M.D.!"

Ken LP: 3200 - 800 = 2400

"And they say 'revenge is a dish best served cold'," Bastion said with a grimace as another fire ball struck Ken, the older boy slid back from the attack with a groan.

"Man, this is crazy!" Jaden exclaimed with a grin. He gripped the back of the chair in front of him tightly. "Aw, I so want to duel again! Chazz's deck had nothing on this!"

"Jaden, how could you say that? Chazz had a deck filled to the brim with rare cards, including the VWXYZ Dragon Catapult Cannon!" Syrus cried out.

"It's not about the cards, Sy, it's all about how you use them!" Jaden laughed.

"Now that the opening fireworks are done, let's cook that elf!" Naruto pointed at the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian. "Masked Dragon-!"

"Not so fast!" Ken gestured at his face down. It flipped up to reveal a card that made Naruto grimace and the crowd gasp. "I activate my continuous trap, Dragon Capture Jar!"

A bronzed jar with the visage of a dragon on its side emerged behind the Celt. The eyes on the jar shone brightly and all of Naruto's dragons were forced to switch to defense mode. Masked Dragon growled through its closed jaw and Element Dragon squawked before both brought their wings forward to protect them from attacks.

"Did you think I wouldn't fix my deck to counter your dragons after your beast embarrassed me!?" Ken asked with a dark laugh. He pointed dramatically at the jar. "This is one of the few surprises I have in store for you, Uzumaki! It took some cost to my own, but the reward will be well worth it. Even the dragon gods know when to bow to their superior, Obelisk."

"Okay, you're getting on my nerves now." Naruto narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth. On his shoulder, Poki Draco snarled and let out his own threatening growls. Naruto took a deep breath before he snapped them open, a fire burning in them. He pulled a card from his hand and held it out. "Fine, since I can't attack, I'll end my turn with a parting gift! I activate the Swords of Revealing Light!"

Multiple radiant blades of heaven shot down and pierced the ground around the blond's opponent. A few even passed through the Obnoxious Celtic Guard, who grunted and struggled before going still.

"A typical loser's desperate tactic, you're only delaying your inevitable defeat." Ken smirked. He crossed his arms. "Anything else?"

"Quit talking, you're starting to piss me off," Naruto growled. He let his arm rest at his side and narrowed his gaze, now locked on the Dragon Capture Jar. "It's your move."

"With pleasure, draw!" Ken said. He smirked in triumph and switched cards on his platform. "I'll sacrifice my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian to summon one of those small surprises I mentioned before. Say hello to Dragon Seeker!"

A dragon-like being emerged in the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian's place. Its body covered in partial places by armor made of dragon bone. Small yellow eyes gave off a malicious glow as they fell on the two drakes that sat in front of Naruto.

#Dragon Seeker; Level 6; ATK: 2000; DEF: 2100#

"When Dragon Seeker is summoned to the field, its ability lets me destroy one dragon type monster of my choosing. I'm going to pick your gangly Masked Dragon. No more fire for your Element Dragon, it seems."

Dragon Seeker flexed its fiendish wings and roared. Masked Dragon recoiled behind its wings before it shattered into pixels. Element Dragon released a roar that sounded weaker as her attack stats returned to normal.

# Element Dragon; Level 4; ATK: 1500; DEF: 1200 #

"I end my turn." A third of the light swords that surrounded Ken and Dragon Seeker shattered into motes of light. Ken smirked. "Oh, look. Two more moves and your chances of getting promoted are shot. Better luck next time, Slacker."

Naruto glared at Ken as he drew from his deck.

" _Kroo! Kroo!_ " Poki cheered and jumped around on Naruto's shoulder. The blond was wide eyed at the card he drew.

 _Yeah, you're right Poki! I can turn this around,_ Naruto thought. He set the card in his hand and grabbed another. "I'm going to set a monster face down and end my turn."

A face down monster appeared beside Element Dragon. Ken scoffed and drew a card.

"I'll set a monster face down and place a card face down. Heh, one more turn and the light show is gone. Then, you're done," he said as two more cards appeared beside and behind Dragon Seeker. "I end my turn."

With that, another blade of light disappeared leaving a sole sword between Ken attacking Naruto.

"I draw." Naruto kept his face neutral as he stared at his draw. He grinned.

"Play time's over, Carrie, now it's time I get serious. First, I'm going to activate a field spell," Naruto said. He pulled a card from his hand and slid it into the field card zone. "Hope you can take the heat, because I activate Molten Destruction."

"What?!" Ken's eyes went wide as the ground began to shake. Around the arena rose a large earth-colored crust and the ground, save for the small areas that Naruto and Ken stood on, became molten lava. The whiskered duelist continued to grin.

"That's not all! I flip-summon my monster. Keep your eyes open, because despite what you think, he is real!" Naruto held his arms out at his sides as the creature flipped up. "Welcome to Earth, UFO Turtle!"

A massive UFO about the size of Element Dragon appeared on the field, and from four slots emerged dark green reptilian limbs. UFO Turtle's head was the last to emerge, and its abnormal yellow eyes glared at the opposing monsters.

# UFO Turtle; Level 4; ATK: 1400; DEF: 1200 #

"Thanks to my Field Spell, my otherworldly friend goes from a gentle box turtle to a vicious snapping turtle!" Naruto grinned while UFO Turtle's reptilian parts shifted to a more aggressive species and the saucer shrank in size.

# UFO Turtle; Level 4; ATK: 1900; DEF: 800 #

"And let's not forget my elegant Element Dragon, even if she's in defense mode, she gets her power boost!" Naruto pumped his fist. Element Dragon roared and an aura appeared around her as her attack rose.

#Element Dragon; Level 4; ATK: 2000; DEF: 1200#

"Wh-What? Why are these cards in your deck? Y-You're a Dragon duelist!" Ken accused with a point at the blond. From where he sat, Sasuke let out a scoff and crossed his arms.

"Idiot," he said. Sakura chuckled beside him.

"Someone didn't do their homework. His grades from the prep school must've gotten him the Blue Colors, and reputation must've kept him there," she said. The younger students nearby looked at them.

"What do you mean?" Sakura and Sasuke looked at the rising star Jaden Yuki. Jaden looked back at the match before he clarified. "If he's not a Dragon Duelist, then what is he?"

"I'm sure the Dope will explain it slowly to that moron. Just keep your ears open," Sasuke said. He sat back and added under his breath. "If you can hear anything under that Kuriboh hat."

"That's his hair, Sasuke," Sakura whispered. Sasuke looked at her, then Jaden, then back at Sakura.

"I don't believe you."

"Sasuke, Sakura, shush." The two second years jumped when Zane spoke up. Like Chumley, his eyes were locked on the match. "Ken's seemed to have finally shut up. Naruto's about to make his move."

"Alright UFO Turtle," Naruto pointed at Ken's unknown monster with a flourish. "Target that face down monster and take it out with your Probing Pyro Sphere!"

From the top of the UFO Turtle's saucer-shaped shell emerged a satellite dish. At the tip of the receiver, a sparking red sphere started to grow. When it was about the size of UFO Turtle's head, the blast fired at the face down. Just before impact, the attack flipped up to reveal Dragon Manipulator, before the creature destroyed into pixels.

"Idiot," Ken said with a smirk as the plate armored knight returned to the field. "Thanks to his special effect, when Dragon Manipulator is flipped he lets me take control of a dragon-type you have for until the end of the turn."

"Too bad it's my turn, idiot." Naruto readily mocked back. He scowled when Element Dragon's beak was wrapped by the knight's rope and then she was mounted by the small human of the previously destroyed card. The dragon thrashed about until she was tamed and moved to the opposite side of the field. Naruto and Poki growled, though only the former was heard. The blond set a card in the Trap/Magic slot. "I'll place one face-down and end my turn."

Element Dragon quickly bucked off the rider and flew back to Naruto's side of the field. She crooned as she settled back into defense mode in front of her Duelist.

"Stupid lizard." Ken murmured and he drew from his deck. He grinned. "I'll first place a card face down and then activate the spell card: Emblem of Dragon Destroyer!"

Gasps and murmurs rang through the crowd. Sasuke and Sakura shared concerned glances and then looked at Naruto, who had once more balled his hand into a fist. Syrus looked around, confused by all of the murmuring and the distress that had come across Chumley, Bastion and Alexis' faces.

"I don't get it," he said. "What's the spell card do?"

"It gives Naruto a good reason to be worried, Sy," Jaden said. He still had a smile on his face as he watched the match. His eyes squeezed shut and he groaned. "Man! This duel is getting so good!"

"Try to be a little sympathetic, Jaden," Chumley said with a frown to the younger boy. He glanced back at the field. "Naruto's been obsessing over his return to Ra Yellow more than he has been getting a good bowl of Ramen. If he loses now, he'll have to wait another month. And I don't think our sanity could handle that."

"Yeah, but that's why I love this game! The stakes could change at any time, anything could happen! Duel Monsters is the greatest game ever!" Jaden laughed. Syrus smiled lightly at the pure spirit his friend was before he frowned again.

"But, what does the card _do_?" Syrus asked.

"With my spell, I now place the mighty monster Buster Blader into my hand!" Ken announced.

"...Oh, that's bad." Syrus shrank down in his seat. He bit down on his lip. "That's really, _really_ bad."

"He still has to summon it," Bastion said firmly. He narrowed his eyes on the haughty Obelisk duelist. "That in itself is far more a challenge."

Unaware of the critique he was receiving from both students and the proctors alike, Ken pointed at his opponent and displayed a triumphant grin.

"Just you wait Uzumaki!" He proclaimed. "The great slayer will soon be upon you! For now, I'll place a monster in defense mode and then end my turn. You know what that means?"

The last swords of light shattered into pixels and released Dragon Seeker from its impromptu prison.

"Draw," Naruto said. His gaze was much more serious than usual, and Poki Draco had returned to its card the moment Buster Blader was mentioned. He looked at the spell card and held a hand out towards his face down card. "Time to shatter that jar of yours: I activate my Royal Decree!"

The Trap Card flipped up to reveal a figure overlooking a faceless crowd from a castle wall. The speaker, barely visible in the card, emerged to stand between Elemental Dragon and UFO Turtle. It was a man that looked like he came from a renaissance fair. The man cleared his throat and unrolled a scroll in front of him.

"As the chosen representative for my king in this Duel, I decree your memes are dead! Your favorite anime is garbage! And further more…" The royal speaker lowered the scroll to give Ken a once over before he sneered. "You have _terrible_ taste in hair care product!"

"W...What?" Ken said, looking confused as all hell. He unconsciously touched his spiky brown locks in concern. Naruto snickered as he looked at his opponent's face.

"Man, I love that you can program that card's avatar with insults," he said before growing serious once more. "Because of Royal Decree, all traps besides itself are disabled. In short, my dragon is free to be in any position she wants to be."

Element Dragon lifted her wings from in front of her and roared at Dragon Seeker, who held its ground.

"Well I chain your trap with my own!" Ken declared. He gestured at his other face-down. "I activate my face down, Reinforcements! I boost my Dragon Seeker with an additional five hundred attack points!"

From behind Dragon Seeker came a whole platoon of armored knights, spears, swords and tower shields brandished towards the opposing monsters.

# Dragon Seeker; Level 6; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2100 #

"Nice cover, but I'm not done yet," Naruto said as he set a card. "I summon Horus, The Black Flame Dragon Level 4!"

A black pillar of fire shot up in front of the space that the Royal Decree avatar occupied. First a metal wing spread from the left side of the pillar, then one emerged on the right. A mighty flap of the wings dispelled the black fire and revealed the metallic bird of prey to all.

# Horus, The Black Flame Dragon LV 4: Level 4; ATK: 1600; DEF: 1000 #

The crowd erupted with gasps and cheers.

"What kind of monster card is that?" Syrus asked with wide eyes.

"A LV monster!" Bastion gasped. "I don't believe it, they were pushed as the evolution of Duel Monsters and several are the stars of the new KCE kid show, but the cards aren't even available yet!"

"Industrial Illusions had postponed their release after the reveal at a tournament some time ago didn't fly over so well. How'd Naruto get his hands on a LV monster?!" Sakura wondered with furrowed brows. Beside her, Sasuke gained a small smirk, something that didn't go unnoticed by Alexis.

"You know," she accused the older boy. The rest of the group looked at Alexis, perplexed, but she kept a firm stare locked with Sasuke. "You know how he obtained that card, don't you?"

"Perhaps," Sasuke said. He folded his arms and nodded back to the field. "Wait and see, Rhodes. Naruto's victory is at hand."

"And since he's a Fire attribute monster, Horus feels the heat and absolutely loves it," Naruto said with a grin. He held a fist up towards the monster. "Let's turn up the heat, Horus!"

The metallic bird screeched and flapped its wings as his attack power rose. The wind kicked up by the wing flaps made Ken shield his eyes.

# Horus, The Black Flame Dragon LV 4: Level 4; ATK: 2100; DEF: 600 #

"Horus, attack his face down monster!" Naruto ordered. He held his hand out to the face down as Horus' beak opened and a black orb grew in it. "Incinerating Black Fireball!"

Horus shrieked and launched the ball of fire at his target. The fireball slammed into the defensive monster. The card flipped to reveal a bulky man with caped yellow armor that held a double headed axe. The Axe Raider shattered into pixels and was sent to Ken's Graveyard.

"Now since I can't muscle out your Dragon Seeker with UFO Turtle or Element Dragon, I'll just have to do it another way." Naruto smirked and brandished a spell from his hand. "It's not normally my style, but I activate Lightning Vortex!"

A large cloud swirled into existence over Ken's side of the field, crackling with untapped energy. Ken scowled and his eyes narrowed at his opponent.

"So what's your little cloud do? Keep me pinned for a few turns? Shift my monsters to defense mode?" He asked.

"Lightning Vortex is like a controlled and focused version of the banned Dark Hole. I discard one card from my hand and I can destroy all face up monsters on your side of the field." While Ken blanched at the announcement, and the proctors were impressed by the added trivia, Naruto looked at the lone monster card in his hand and frowned. "Sorry, Poki."

" _Kroo!_ " The little drake's growl echoed in Naruto's ears and the card art reflected with a determined fire in his large eyes. The blond gained a grin and he looked back at his opponent.

"Yeah, we'll get him good for you, buddy." He slid Poki Draco into his graveyard. Naruto then gestured at Dragon Seeker and the Reinforcements. "Lightning Vortex...Bring the rain!"

Ken let out a cry as multiple, large bolts of lightning rained down onto his side of the field. One struck down squarely onto his Dragon Seeker, which exploded into pixels. The Reinforcements fared no better.

"Whoo! Talk about change of weather," Naruto said. He clapped his hand onto his head. "Oh, yeah, before I end my turn I place one card face down. Your move."

Ken put his hand on his deck, prepared to draw, but before he could, Horus let out a loud shriek and burst into black flames. The fire became another pillar and slowly widened.

"Man, I almost forgot! A neat little bit of information about Horus LV 4," Naruto said with a grin as he stared at the pillar. "Whenever Horus LV 4 destroys a monster in battle, at the end of that turn he evolves! So now I special summon my Horus, The Black Flame Dragon LV _6_!"

The Level Six monster dispersed the pillar of fire with a spread of its wings. Its larger form looked slightly more draconic, with a thin reptilian tail that whipped back and forth as the dragon let out a deeper, but still shrill, roar.

# Horus, The Black Flame Dragon Lv 6: Level 6; ATK: 2300; DEF: 1600 #

Black flames danced along Horus' wings, giving off a menacing and intimidating appearance. Naruto grinned and nodded down at the lava that surrounded the field. Ken groaned as the black fire around the dragon growing slightly as the monster's attack rose.

# Horus, The Black Flame Dragon Lv 6: Level 6; ATK: 2900; DEF: 1200#

"Yikes! Talk about a Big Bird!" Jaden whistled from his seat. Syrus' glasses slid down his face and he shuddered.

"Bird? That thing's practically a fighter jet!" the shorter teen exclaimed.

"Quite impressive," Bastion said. He rubbed his chin. "And it was summoned from the deck. A dangerous monster the LVs create."

"Oh, yeah…" Chumley and Alexis muttered. Mindy and Jasmine both nodded their agreement. Sasuke chuckled at their astoundment, which caused the first years to all look his way.

"You think this is impressive? Just wait." Sasuke sat back with his hands behind his head and a smirk on his face. "You haven't seen anything yet."

"Now that's what I call a dragon, am I right? Or am I right?" Naruto asked his opponent with a grin.

"You think that scares me?!" Ken snarled, his legs visibly shaking.

"Doesn't it?" Naruto asked. He chuckled and scratched his cheek with a finger. "I know I was a bit intimidated when I faced down the Double Eye that I got Horus from."

"You're wrong! I draw!" Ken screamed as he made his initial phase. A twisted grin, borderlining unhinged, spread across his face. "I activate the spell card Premature Burial! It costs eight hundred Life Points, but I can bring back one destroyed monster! Come back to serve your master, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian!"

Ken LP: 2400 - 800 = 1600

Naruto balked at the card's effect, creeped out as the elf warrior crawled out of the ground, covered in dirt. He shuddered.

# Obnoxious Celtic Guardian; Level 4; ATK: 1400; DEF: 1200 #

"No matter how many times I see that, it will always wig me out," he muttered.

"Now I cast another spell, double summon!" Ken said as a card with a woman raising a staff in the air with two bolts of energy struck the ground. "First, I summon my Mataza the Zapper."

A samurai with green armor appeared on the field beside the Celt. He drew his sword and narrowed his eyes at Naruto.

# Mataza the Zapper: Level 3; ATK: 1300; DEF: 800 #

"They won't be here for long though," Ken said. He laughed and slapped another monster onto the card platform. "Since I'm sacrificing both of them to utilize my second summon and bring out my Buster Blader!"

A bright glow brought forth a navy armored warrior with a massive sword. The warrior swung the sword and let the back edge rest on his shoulder.

# Buster Blader: Level 7; ATK: 2600 + 2000; DEF: 2300 #

Awed whispers rang out in the crowd at seeing the famous dragon slayer. It was popular and expensive since it was noted to be used multiple times by the King of Games, Yugi Moto.

"I'm sure you know his effect, Uzumaki, but let's remind you. For every _dragon_ you have on your side of the field _and_ the ones in your graveyard, my Blader gets a boost to his attack points by five hundred for each. Now, last I counted, you have four dragon types in total. Thank you," Ken said. He offered an obnoxious bow as Buster Blader's already large sword grew even larger.

# Buster Blader; Level 7; ATK: 4600; DEF: 2300 #

"Now Buster Blader, destroy his Horus!"

Naruto remained calm as the warrior aimed his at the dragon's neck. Buster Blader then leapt up high and raised his sword above his head. Naruto stared up at the descending warrior, and he grinned.

"I activate my facedown card!"

"Idiot, you're the one who activated Royal Decree!" Ken scoffed at the foolish action. Naruto continued to grin and he flipped up the face down card. The card had a green border and the art revealed a goblin within a looking glass.

~ _Play OST: Naruto - The Rising Fighting Spirit_ ~

"No…" Ken said with widened eyes. The crowd began to whisper in shock and awe.

"It's not a Trap. It's a Quick Play Spell! I activated Shrink!" Naruto declared. The card shone as he continued. "The spell's simple, choose one monster and halve its' attack until the end of the turn!"

"No!"

"And guess what else, Cornelia?" Naruto asked, his cheeky grin still in place. He pointed at the airborne monster. "I target your Buster Blader!"

"No, no, no, no, no, no!"

Unbeknownst to the Buster Blader, the warrior's sword shrunk to the width of a rapier as the spell's light unleashed a beam onto it.

# Buster Blader: Level 7; ATK: 2300; DEF: 1150 #

"Horus! Swat that gnat out of the sky!" Naruto cried with a swipe of his arm. "Shadow Blaze Beam!"

Horus screech was drowned out by the sound of energy gathering. The dragon's beak opened and it fired a single beam of black fire at the warrior monster. The dragon slayer was engulfed by flames, losing to the very monster type it was created to destroy.

Ken LP: 1400 - 500 = 900

~ _End OST: Naruto - The Rising Fighting Spirit_ ~

"Nice shot, Horus! That's another to mark as your kill!" Naruto cheered his monster on. Horus spread his wings and released a cry as dark energy began to swirl around the base of his claws. Naruto looked past the raptor-like drake and grinned at his opponent. "Hey, you remember what happens when Horus destroys a monster in battle, right?"

"What? He can't mean-!" Alexis, Mindy and Jasmine began.

"That Horus can go to an even higher level!?" Bastion, Chumley and Syrus finished.

"Aw, god, I want to be in this duel so bad!" Jaden cried out. He grabbed his head and wailed. "It's just not fair!"

"Did you know about this?" Sakura asked the boy next to her while ignoring the over dramatic first years. Sasuke glanced at her from the corner of his eye and his smile grew just the slightest bit more amused. She scowled and gave him a firm elbow to the ribs, which made him release a hiss of pain. "Serves you right. Keeping secrets like that, you jerk."

"He's the one that wanted to keep our rewards secrets," Sasuke said as he tended to his ribs. She turned so fast to face him, he thought that Sakura must've snapped her neck.

"Our rewards?" she repeated. It took a moment before Sakura released a shocked cry. "You mean you two-!?"

"Haruno, Uchiha, sit down and be quiet!" Kotetsu, the bandaged proctor from before, shouted up at the students. Around the arena, other proctors were doing the same to keep students quiet and calm.

Back at the field Ken trembled where he stood and grit his teeth. He looked at his hand, his eyes darted from one card to the next. Almost frantic in his search to find a way to defend his now empty field. His teeth grit.

"I-I end my turn."

Horus let out a roar once more when he started to bleed black flames from the segments of his body. Naruto grinned and held his hand up towards the monster as it began to evolve to its final stage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, duelists of all dorms, bow your heads! For you behold the child of the Egyptian God, Ra! Horus, The Black Flame Dragon LV _8_!" He proclaimed.

The massive dragon was nearly touching the top of the duel arena and its wings flexed out well into the crowd. Two arms that the prior forms lacked stretched as the toothed beak opened and roared. The student body and teachers alike were stunned by the size of the creature.

# Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 8; Level 8; ATK: 3000; DEF: 1800 #

"And with the environment around us, you know what else he gets?" Naruto asked. He grinned when Ken's hand balled into a fist. "I'll take your silence as a _yes_."

# Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 8: Level 8; ATK: 3500; DEF: 1400#

"I draw," Naruto said. He didn't bother to look at the card. Instead, he kept a firm stare locked on his opponent. "

"No, not again!" Ken trembled and took a step back. He stared at the metallic beast as it roared to the sky and spread its wings. A black orb built in its mouth and Ken's eyes became the size of dinner plates. "This can't be happening!"

"Man, I owe that bastard big time now. He just had to be right," Naruto said under his breath. He pointed at Ken. "You wanted to face my dragons? _Fine_! Horus, show this Oblivious Obelisk why you shouldn't taunt hotheads like us!"

"This isn't what was supposed to happen!" Ken wailed when the Black Flame Dragon looked down at him, its black orb glowing maliciously. "I was supposed to win this time! Not you, you-you-you slacker!"

"Game over, Kenneth von Schroeder!" Naruto gave his opponent a thumbs down. Horus' mouth clamped shut before it opened again and a massive wave of pitch black fire rocketed towards Ken. Naruto let his hand drop to his side and kept his gaze on Ken. "Black Flame Devastation."

"NO!" Ken lifted his arms to brace himself before he was consumed in a sea of black flames. When the attack ended and the smoke cleared, Ken fell to his knees, hitting the ground just as his Life Points dropped to zero.

Ken LP: 900 - 3500 = 0

Naruto LP: 1200

"Well I think it's obvious, but for tradition's sake: The Winner of this Duel is Naruto Uzumaki!" Chancellor Sheppard proclaimed. The students erupted with cheers and applause, accompanied by the polite applause of the teachers, excluding the enthusiastic clapping from Professor Sartyr and the muffled cursing by the handkerchief-biting Professor Crowler.

"Oh, man, I can't believe it's finally over!" Naruto's shoulders sagged as he sighed. He grinned at Ken while the holograms faded away. "You really kept me on my toes this time, Kenny! Who knows? If you promise to be less of a dick, we could duel again!"

"This time?" Ken looked up to scowl at the blond. "You...You remember?"

"Course I do! Hard to forget a guy that can't take a loss that well, but to be fair, I did have a butt load of luck that duel," Naruto said with a laugh. He scratched his cheek and walked forward before he offered his hand. "Sorry I had to pull you on the run around, but you were ganging up on me with Miss Crawler. So what do you say, Ken? Want to start over?"

"Start over?" Ken asked. He stared at the hand offered to him for a long while before he scowled and smacked it aside. He rose to his feet and dusted himself off before he sneered at the annoyed blond. "As if I'd ever be your friend! Mark my words, Uzumaki. I'll crush you, next time."

With that, the third year left the stage, a scowl on his face.

"Man, who pissed in _his_ Ramen broth?" Naruto wondered while he scratched his head. He shrugged the thought off and turned to see Izumo, the bandanna wearing proctor, walk up to him with Kotetsu in tow.

"Congratulations on your win, Uzumaki," Izumo said, "That type of comeback? Despite whatever grade you got on your written exam, you've guaranteed a promotion to the Ra Yellow dorm."

At hearing that, Naruto's face blossomed into a glowing smile.

"YES!" He cheered. His celebration was cut short when he was lifted into the air from a tight hug.

"That was great, Naruto!" Sakura cheered as she squeezed the life out of him. "You're back in Ra Yellow, and if you study hard enough, you'll be an Obelisk with Sasuke and I!"

"Sakura! Air!" Naruto cried out as his face turned a funny shade of blue. Sasuke flicked Sakura on the head.

"Ow!"

"Let the Dope breathe, Sakura." Sasuke chided. He pointed at Naruto's new skin tone and Sakura let out a sheepish laugh.

"Sorry, Naruto," she said as she released the boy. Naruto inhaled as much oxygen as possible now that he could keep it down..

"Geez, Sakura, give a guy some warn-!" The blond was cut off as he was tackled to the ground by Jaden and Syrus.

"Naruto, that was awesome!"

"I thought you were going to lose for sure!"

"Dog pile!"

"Chumley, _no_!" Naruto, Syrus and Jaden screamed as the portly boy jumped onto the pile. The three boys groaned. "Why?!"

"My word." Bastion chuckled at the scene as he walked up. "My new dorm-mates are certainly...unique, aren't they?"

"Don't kid yourself Misawa. They're idiots, plain and simple." Sasuke shook his head in amusement. Bastion barked out a laugh while Sakura nudged Sasuke, who shrugged. "What? They are. Just watch them."

"Naruto, duel me right now!" Jaden pleaded.

"No way, Jaden! Get off!" Naruto pushed the younger boy away. "I barely had time to get this deck set to regulation!"

"Don't tell me that!" the Kuriboh-head whined. He tightened his grip on Naruto's collar. "Now I just want to duel you even more! Duel me!"

"Argh! Syrus, get him away from me! Doesn't he have to pack for the Ra Dorm?"

"Actually, Jaden turned down the promotion," Syrus said. He began to sniffle and rubbed his arm over his eyes. "It was...was all so touching! Waaaah, Jaden! You're the best friend a guy could have!"

"Whoa, Syrus, easy on the hug, buddy!" Jaden cried out as he was embraced by his shorter friend.

"Ha! Doesn't feel so good, does i-Urk!" Naruto was cut off as Chumley wrapped him into a tight hug from behind.

"I-I'm gonna miss you, buddy!" The big guy wailed.

"Chumley, stop crying! It's not like I'm leaving the island! You're getting snot all over my jacket!" Naruto began outraged only to peter out. "Oh, wait. I won't need it anymore. Here, bud, you take it. You need it more than I do."

Chumley sobbed and blew comedically into the discarded clothing. Naruto, Sakura, Jaden and Syrus all gained disgusted looks while Sasuke and Bastion shared small smiles.

While Mindy and Jasmine shoved their way through the crowd to join the group and meet the two cute second years, Alexis giggled and glanced over at Zane.

"They're certainly lively," she said. Zane gave her a small, rare smile.

"That's just the kind of person Naruto is. He brings out the best in people," he said. "Usually after he infuriates them to their limit."

"Like Ken?" Alexis asked as she looked towards where the third year had walked off.

"It's called humbling, Alexis. Every duelist needs that once or twice in their lives," Zane said. He closed his eyes and sat back. "Your brother was very good at dishing that out to me. Naruto is a lot like him in that regard."

"...Yeah," Alexis said as her smile softened. She looked down at the laughing blond, and a ghostly figure of a brown haired boy appeared beside him, laughing in the same manner. "He certainly is."

* * *

A girl giggled as she stood at the edge of a hallway that gave a prime view of the duel arena. Dressed in the Obelisk Blue girls' uniform that showed her developed figure off, the girl leaned against the hallway wall and stared at the celebrating blond that stood in the center of the crowd.

"Back in Ra Yellow before the year even really begins. Just as I expected of you, Naruto," she said with a smile. "You're _purr_ -fect in every way."

* * *

 **AN: There's chapter three, and Naruto's deck theme is revealed!**

 **The Will of Fire burns brightly in the Tyrant Duelist, evidenced by his fire-themed deck. And a hint to Sasuke's deck can be found in his character.**

 **Despite the hot cards, we don't want any flames, so y'all know what to do...**

 **REVIEW!**


	4. Standby Phase

**Disclaimer: We don't own** _ **Naruto**_ **or** _ **Yu-Gi-Oh!**_ **Please support the official release.**

 **A Kross Kings production.**

 **The Gentle Tyrant**

 **Fourth Turn: Standby Phase**

* * *

"I'm finally back!" Naruto beamed as he walked into his dorm room.

He took a deep inhale of his new room and let his two overstuffed extra large duffle bags fall to the ground. A smile came across his face as he walked in and looked around the room. A deluxe single bed set to the left of the room, a half-wall long dresser set on the opposite side, with a desk next to it. Perched on that desk was a television about the size of Naruto's head. Poki appeared beside his duelist and rushed over to the television.

"And not a hint of mold in the air. Life is good," Naruto said as he turned the TV on for the little drake. The blond sighed and began to unpack. Once that was done, he changed into his beloved coat.

"Oh yellow jacket, yellow buttons, how I missed you." Naruto whispered and he patted the well-tailored material. "I'll never take you off again. I promise."

"I see you are all moved in?" An eloquent voice asked from behind him. The blond duelist looked up from his caressing to see a first year Ra Yellow with slicked back dark hair standing in his doorway.

"Hey you're Jaden's friend, uh..." Naruto snapped his fingers a few times before the light bulb went off. "Butch, right?"

"Er, no. I'm Bastion," Bastion said, a tad flustered. He walked into the room and offered his hand. "Bastion Misawa."

"Right, Bastion! Sorry, man. I'm terrible with names," Naruto said as he slapped Bastion's hand then threw his arm around the younger man's shoulders. "Good to meet you, Brandon!"

" _Bastion_."

"Right. Sorry." Naruto chuckled and scratched the back of his head with his free hand. He walked over to his bed and scooped up the remote. He clicked the TV off, to the annoyance of Poki, and tossed the remote back onto his bed. He then turned to the first year and clapped his hands together.

"Now, Bentley," he said. "We need to reclaim my territory here in Ra."

"Territory?" Bastion's sharp brows furrowed together.

"Yes, territory," Naruto said. He stood straight in order to begin lecturing the younger student on the workings of the world, as was his job as an older student. "You see, when me and Sasuke ran this place-"

"I thought Professor Satyr ran the dorm?" Bastion interjected. Naruto burst into laughter.

"Silly firstie! When it comes to Duel Academy, we, the students are the power here. As are our decks!" He declared as they walked down the hallway, the blond threw his arm back around the younger Ra student's shoulders. "And you have the first chance to join my re-throning."

"We have a throne in Ra Yellow?" Bastion looked as if his entire world was being flipped on its head. Well, his worldview on the inner workings of Duel Academy was at least.

"Not a literal one. I _tried_ to get one, but was denied. Multiple times." Naruto frowned as he recalled the flat out denials issued by Chancellor Shepard. He shook his head. "Regardless, as my current Right-Hand man-"

"When did this happen?!" Bastion asked, startled.

"Just now. At least try to pay attention, Brian," Naruto scolded the boy. He continued. "As my current Right-Hand man, I need to know how you tick. We will bond in the most manly way possible!"

"Right. So am I to assume we'll be engaging in some invigorating, competitive sports?"

"No! What do you think this is, the Card Game Channel? Dude, we're bonding over Professor Sartyr's famous Titan-dish Ramen! All we gotta do is give him the time of day and you're the dude's favorite."

"I didn't realize Duel Academy was so heavy in politicking," Bastion cupped his chin. Naruto grinned.

"You have no idea," he said. "Now, tell me about your duel style and I shall bestow upon you my vast wisdom."

* * *

"Which room did Naruto say he was in again?" Sakura asked herself as she walked through the halls of the Ra Yellow dorm. The place looked exactly the same as last year, just with a bunch of new faces that poked out to gawp at her as she strolled through the halls. It was very late in the afternoon, the sky was a pleasant orange off in the distance, evidence of the sun telling the world that it was getting ready to turn in.

The pinkette was thrilled for her friend, now all she had to do was coax him into studying some more so he could join Sasuke and herself in Obelisk Blue. Sure, Naruto can act like a goof at times, but he was really smart when he wanted to be. She knew that if he applied himself, he would be with them as an elite.

Fed up with wandering, Sakura politely stopped a Ra Yellow and asked if he knew which room Naruto was in. She flashed a thankful smile when he pointed it out to her and she moved on her way. She reached the room and rapped her knuckles against the door.

"Naruto? You in here?" She asked and jiggled the knob. She wasn't surprised that the knucklehead had left it unlocked. He didn't value much outside of his cards, and those were nearly always on his person.

"Geez, this isn't the toolshed, Naruto." Sakura sighed with her hands on her hips. She decided to peek in and rolled her eyes to see he didn't even unpack yet.

 _And he complains that he doesn't need a caretaker. No wonder his sister is such a worrywart._

Closing the door, Sakura decided to go find Naruto in the one place he could always be found.

The dorm's dining area.

* * *

"And that's why you don't use Final Countdown when going against a guy that can end you in two turns. Seriously, the guy was crying after Sasuke tore him a new one."

Sakura heard Naruto explain as she entered the dining area. She looked to see him sitting at a nearby table, eating Ramen as he sat across one of the first years she saw with his little friends from Slifer Red. The boy was eating at a slower pace and was scribbling some words down in a notepad.

"Fascinating, but one would think they would have a stalling tactic deck for such a reason."

Naruto pointed his chopsticks at the boy.

"Bastion, stalling tactics mean diddly squat when a guy has five monsters on the field by his second turn. Like I said, Sasuke's the _second_ best Second Year on the island."

"And you're the first?" Sakura amusingly interrupted as she stopped by the table.

"Of course!" Naruto smiled brightly as he looked at her. "Wait, what are you doing here, Sakura?"

"To check and see if you moved."

"...You have this mother-complex with me, and I don't know if I think it's hot or not."

Sakura bonked him on the head.

"You know you're only showing how much you care when you hit me." Naruto grinned, then cringed and rubbed his head. "Also, _ow_!"

"Please ignore him and his idiotic rambling." Sakura apologized to the first year. She put a hand on her chest. "I'm Sakura Haruno. Pleased to meet you."

"Bastion Misawa, a pleasure." He inclined his head towards her and patted his notebook. "And please, don't apologize. He's has been very insightful with his tales."

"Again? Naruto, what have we told you about brainwashing people into your cult." Sakura asked. She didn't believe for a second that Naruto was being a positive influence.

"Psh, I don't have a cult. I have a cult _following_. Big difference, Sakura."

The girl gave him a flat stare.

"I think I'd best get going, all of this revelation has given me some new deck ideas I would like to work on," Bastion said as he sat back in his seat. He covered his mouth just before a burp could slip out. "Pardon. Not to mention I feel like I might have to work off this meal."

He patted his stomach, showing he only was able to finish half of the large Ramen bowl set in front of him. He tried to stand, but failed. A whimper escaped him.

"...I can't move…"

"Don't worry, I'll finish that for you," Naruto said as he wrapped his hands around the bowl and pulled it towards him.

"You brought him along for a second bowl, really?" Sakura asked her friend.

"Sartyr makes them big! But only gives me one." Naruto pouted at the misfortune while the Obelisk shook her head with an amused little smile. The whiskered teen took a few bites before he spoke up again around a mouthful of noodles. "Plus, he's an interesting kid like Jaden, but needs to learn to chill. And who can be a better teacher than me for such a task?"

"Naruto…" Sakura took a seat at the table with a sigh. "You're impossible."

"I try!" Naruto chirped and made to resume eating, but stilled his hand when the pinkette spoke again.

"Are you going to go visit today?"

The blond's cheerful disposition fell as he gazed into the Ramen bowl, eyes overshadowed by his bangs. Bastion looked like he was going to ask something, but his PDA chirped. He pulled it out and an image of Jaden showed up.

" _Hey Bastion! Me, Sy, and Chumley are going to check out the Abandoned Dorm. If you want to join in, let us know!_ "

The hairs on the back of Sakura's neck stood on end and Naruto dropped his chopsticks into his bowl.

"How peculiar. I believe that Chancellor Sheppard had said that place was off-limits." Bastion commented aloud.

Sakura and Naruto looked at each other, worry on their faces.

"I'll go back up the Slackers, and you get Sasuke?"

"Why are we still talking about this?" Sakura stood up hastily.

"Fair point. I'll see you guys there. Bastion, go with her! Learn lots!" Naruto called out as he rushed out of the dining area.

"What's going on?" Bastion asked. The pinkette was already half out of her seat, which prompted him to forget his lethargy as he followed after her.

"You're friends are about to do something very stupid and we're going to help them."

* * *

"Dumb Kuriboh-Head, midget, and what the actual hell, Chumley!? You should know better!" Naruto seethed in the midst of his full-on sprint towards the Abandoned Dorm.

Poki appeared next to him, his large fruit tucked under one arm, and chirped worriedly.

"I know, Poki. That place is filled with a lot of bad Juju." His eyes squeezed shut, a look of pain overcame his features for just a brief moment before he shook it away. His eyes snapped open once more, a determined fire burning within them. "We won't let anything get them, I won't lose any more friends…"

Poki crooned at him, and he smiled back at the little dragon.

"Thanks, pal. Don't worry about me, we just need to find the others before they trigger one of the security alarms-"

 _Bweep! Bweep! Bweep!_

"...Like the one I just tripped." Naruto grimaced. He really didn't want to leave evidence that he was here. Well, the pooch is screwed in that case.

"Okay, it's still early in the year. Maybe they won't react too fast."

"Halt, in the name of Duel Academy!" Two figures jumped from the bushes, decked out in a dark olive uniforms with matching berets. One was a tall, thin man with receding black hair and the other was a shorter, rotund fellow with a ponytail. Both had sunglasses on. In the middle of the forest. At night.

"Oh come on!" Naruto threw his hands in the air. "What, is the Disciplinary Action Squad camping in the woods, now?"

"So, we meet again Uzumaki." One of the men said as he approached the blond. His voice was nasally, but a bit deep. He sounded like a horn.

"Listen, Agent uh... 21?"

"Dude!" The rotund security guard whined. He began tapping his chest in emphasis. " _I'm_ Agent 21! He's Agent _24_! This is like the sixteenth time we've had to tell you!"

Holding up his hands to placate the guard, Naruto smiled nervously. "Sorry. Seriously though, I got to go now. Mind if we just ignore the fact I'm heading up this way? Please?"

"You expect us to let you go? Crowler will give _literal_ hell if you slip past us. _Again_." Agent 24 rubbed his neck.

"How about you come with me? Some dumb firsties are going to the Abandoned Dorm and we need to stop them. Right now!"

"Yeah, right. Like we'll fall for that one." Agent 21 snorted.

"I'm being serious!"

"Like that time you tricked us with the ice cream buffet for the staff, but it was really Satyr's secret stash?"

"He tricked _you_ with the buffet. I keep telling you that reading the memos are mandatory!" Agent 24 groaned into his hand.

"I do read them!" Agent 21 snapped.

"You so do not! You skim them!"

"Well, obviously! They're so long and full of bureaucratic bull crap!"

"It's important!"

"Hey, rent-a-cops! Students in imminent danger! Why am I the only one concerned about this!?" Naruto interjected.

"Hey, man, the last time we listened to your 'concern'," Agent 24 said, using finger quotes. "Was when you got us to go look into an emergency at the girls dorm's bathhouse… during operation hours."

"We were lucky we had that call recorded to keep our jobs!" Agent 21 threw his arms up. "How did they not recognize your voice?"

"I keep telling you, he has a slight accent that gets distorted over the phone!"

"He so does not. He hacked the system, that's all there is to it."

"And you are wearing a fat suit."

"Hey, this is mostly water weight!"

"Like how this is all muscle and no bone." Agent 24 pulled at his thin bicep.

As he got them to turn on one another, Naruto grinned and made a mad dash around them. Not ten feet past, he felt something wrap around his ankles and the world flipped around. He swung from one side to the next, Poki watching him from the ground.

"Ha! You thought you could get us with old distract the two by having them argue, huh Uzumaki?" Agent 21 smirked and crossed his arms. He elbowed his companion. "Told you he'd try it."

"Shut up." Agent 24 huffed. "We've been working on our trapping skills just for you."

"Yeah, over the summer we became Boy Scouts and earned every badge in snares and tracking!"

"Dude," Agent 24 smacked Agent 21 upside the head. "Don't tell him that! It's bad enough that my ex has photographic evidence."

"I told you to say we were going bowling."

"My _dad_ goes bowling!"

"...I would find this touching," Naruto's eye violently twitched, "if you weren't making a _big_ mistake here guys."

"Oh, I'm so scared!" Agent 21 snorted. "You'll change your tune once we deliver you to Crowler."

"I see a nice bonus appearing in our next paycheck." Agent 24 rubbed his hands together. "The Boss is going to be so happy!"

"Yeah! And there's nothing you can do about it!"

Naruto's blue eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Very well. You two leave me no choice." He pointed at the both of them with an index finger each. "I challenge you to a children's card game to determine my fate! Bust out your decks!"

Agent 21 and 24 looked at each other before they looked back at the suspended teen.

"We don't play."

Naruto sputtered.

"You don't-Then why do you even work _here_?!"

"Uh, it's a sweet and easy gig on a _island_ with free food and short hours? Why not?" Agent 24 pointed out.

"Besides, do we look like we have time to duel when we gotta keep an eye on you hormonal little monsters?" Agent 21 added. He rubbed his neck. "I barely have enough time to date."

"Or work out."

"For the last time. It is water weight!"

" _Right_...And it was the Ghost of Jinzo that ate all of Maggie's pies."

"Hey! That was real! I saw that!"

Taking a deep breath, Naruto tried to find his center. Sadly, the blood rushing to his head was _not_ helping in his search. Nor was the debate between the friends going on just a few feet away.

* * *

Sasuke was having a good day as far as he was concerned. The classes were on hold for the week to ensure the transfers smoothed over. His meteors or planetoids or whatever Naruto decided to call them had converged around Zane's old friend What's-His-Face consoling him on his loss. His fangirls were in a meeting for the day; they were probably trying to plot out a new method to steal his underwear or a lock of his hair or something equally as disturbing.

 _Note to self, get Naruto to redo the security traps in my room_ , Sasuke thought.

Thus, he had a stress-free day to plan for his next encounter with Naruto in the duel arena.

Well, at least, he _did_. Then Sakura and the Ra kid that hung out with Naruto's gopher Judai came to pick him up.

"Stupid first years. I mean, come on who just goes to the _only_ Off-Limits place on campus?" He gripped as he ran up the path to the run-down dorm. "Why not just play in traffic?"

"Sasuke!" Sakura scolded him. "That's not how you should talk about your juniors, and it's nowhere near being nice."

"Neither is having to clean up after idiots." Sasuke pointed out with a glare.

"May I inquire what this is all about?" The Ra kid asked.

"Bastion, the reason the abandon dorm is off-limits is because several students went missing from it." Sakura informed the first year, who took on a look of calculated awe. It reminded Sasuke of a laid-back duel theorist back home. He was pulled from his decent memories by his female friend's explanation. "A good friend of ours was one of them. No one knows what happened, but some rumors said they were messing around with Shadow Games..."

Bastion's brow knitted in thought as they continued their sprint. "I'm not one to put stock in such things, but you seem to believe it is quite possible."

"More like _very_." Sasuke grunted. He shook his head to rid himself of the horrors that threatened to spring up. Then, he eyed the younger student from over his shoulder, not bothering to break his pace. "The dope and I have snuck in a few times last year. We found some freaky symbols and designs all over the place. Sakura and I did some research and it was all occult related."

"Despite how he acts," Sakura continued, "Naruto has a sixth sense for these kinds of things. So when he told us that place was literally trying to drag him through the floor, we all decided to stay away from it until we could figure something out."

"That, and we were ordered to leave it alone after _someone_ ratted us out to Sheppard." Sasuke gave the pinkette a dirty look.

"The Chancellor needed to know!"

"He _already_ knew! What, did you think he made it 'forbidden' for the heck of it? He even had the gall to cover it up."

"We don't have time for your conspiracies, Sasuke."

"It's not a conspiracy if it's true! He _admitted_ that it was a cover up, Sakura! To our faces!" Sasuke snarled, "This is why I don't trust anyone I haven't known my whole life."

"...Wait, we met at preliminary school…" Sakura frowned.

"And your point is?"

"Ehem, this is all informative, truly, but perhaps we should pick up the pace?" Bastion said. He looked somewhat uncomfortable.

"We've been running as fast as we can."

"Besides, we're here." Sakura said as she slowly jogged to a stop, panting lightly.

Sasuke, however, didn't stop as he went right through the gate, and charged through the door. He barreled through with his shoulder, falling flat on his face after discovering that the door was slightly ajar and not locked as he had assumed. To preserve his dignity, he stayed on the ground and took a deep intake.

He'd hurt his knee something good with that fall. The wood-painted steel floor was as hard as ever.

"Dammit Sasuke, buddy system!" Sakura scolded him as she and Bastion jogged in, then helped him up. She looked him over and checked his knee. "Not dislocated, it'll probably bruise though."

"I'm okay." He said in a stoic tone. Gingerly, he put his leg back down, his eye only twitching at the spike of pain going through the limb. He took a sharp breath in through his nose, before he grit out. "See? Perfectly fine."

"Uh-huh." The pinkette rolled her eyes, "Bastion, be a dear and help him. And don't mind the ego, it only bites a little."

The Ra Yellow jogged up to them and offered an arm for Sasuke, but he didn't take it. Stubbornly he continued inside, with muffled gasps coming from him as he hobbled on.

"...And he calls Naruto an idiot." The female duelist sighed and followed after him.

"What an odd pair." The first year commented to himself as he followed his seniors' lead.

* * *

After what felt like hours, the trio found evidence of other duelists being present. Evidence in the form of trading cards. Specifically, they were of the Vehicroid deck.

"The only duelist I know who uses these cards is Zane's brother." Sasuke muttered as he looked over the Rescueroid card.

"His name is Syrus, Sasuke." Sakura sighed.

"No, it's Zane's brother. I haven't met him yet."

"You met him just yesterday."

"...You're lying."

"He's this tall," Sakura held her hand up to about the middle of her waist. "Cyan hair? Glasses?"

"No recollection." Sasuke shook his head. _Who has cyan hair? At least Sakura's is a light rose red. I think._

"He's Jaden's friend," Bastion chimed in.

" _Who_?"

"Stop being an ass, Sasuke. The one with the Kuriboh haircut."

"Oh, Judai. Right. I'm still not convinced that it's his hair."

"May we focus on the task at hand, please?" The Ra Yellow asked politely.

"It's called banter firstie. Learn it, or you'll end up a scrub out like Jerkins."

"Who is _Jerkins_?" Bastion asked, a bit worried.

"Exactly."

As they walked along the hallway, the sounds of a duel met their ears. Hearing this, they looked to each other and nodded. The hurried up and looked down over a banister at what was going on.

It was Jaden dueling some a duster and hat-wearing giant. A demonic field spell was in play along with an archfiend monster on the creep's side of the field. On Jaden's side on the field were nothing but two face downs and the spell Mirage of Nightmare.

Off to the side was what looked like an unconscious Alexis Rhodes in a coffin of all things.

Sasuke's coal black eyes darkened. He and the cheerleader may not be on the best of terms, last he checked anyway, but she was an Obelisk Blue. A Blue Blood sister, if you will. Despite personal opinions of their fellows in the dorm, Blue Bloods watch each other's backs. Always.

"I'll be right back." He rose up and began to back away.

"Where are you going?" Sakura whispered to him.

"Making an entrance. Get ready to get the Red Cheer Squad out of here."

He took a deep breath, focused his eyes, and then charged at the walkway banister. He hopped over it, ignoring Sakura and Bastion's cries, and extended his good leg above the giant.

"Don't waste my time. Your life points won't last long enough for any more cards. Alexis' soul will soon be gone!" The giant of a man said. He drew a card and grinned at Jaden, who was as oblivious to the incoming human projectile as everyone else in the room, save for the two other students watching from above. "And so will you-"

He was cut off when Sasuke's heel dropped into his shoulder with a loud crack.

"Gah!" The man cried out and wavered until he collapsed.

"...Tch. Just missed." Sasuke frowned as he strained to stand straight. The idiot would mock him for hours on end. He nudged the man with his foot. "Must've broken his collarbone…"

Upon seeing his opponent unconscious, and the cause of it, the Kuriboh _hat_ wearing Slifer whined.

"Aw, what'd you have to go and knock him out for? I was just about to make a comeback, bro!" Judai, or whatever, groaned and looked at his hand's latest draw.

Sasuke sent him a flat look.

"I don't care."

He walked over to Alexis and tried to nudge her awake.

"Come on, Cheerleader. Up and about. Seriously, don't make me slap you awake."

"Sasuke, your T.L.C. is terrible." Sakura sighed as she approached him while Bastion went to check up on the Slifer trio. Sasuke backed up when she started to check up on Alexis, a flashlight pulled from her pocket being shined in the girl's eyes. "Responsive, but vacant. I'm guessing a neurotic trance of some kind."

"Pulse?"

"It's there."

"Good." Sasuke nodded as he looked around. He glowered at the three who were animatedly explaining the situation to Bastion.

"Hey!" He snapped at them. "Idiot Triplets! What was your big plan coming here for? Especially you, Fat Man."

"Aw, great...What are _you_ doing here?" The rotund companion that Naruto was fond of asked. Sasuke shared no fondness for the grilled cheese-loving oaf. He was certain that the big man was the cause for the decline in golden egg-wiches during sandwich lunch day, but the fat bastard wouldn't own up to it.

"Saving your dumbasses from both expulsion and potential possession, because the Dope flipped his lid when he heard you were coming here. The firsties I get, but you? You _know_ that this place is bad news. So I'll ask again, what the hell, Fat Man?"

"Hey, back off, man!"

"No. You listen to me, you Kuriboh hat wearing nimrod-

"I'm not wearing a hat?" the Slifer looked at his fellows. "Am I?"

"Nope, don't see one, Jay."

"...Regardless, you are a nimrod, you and tiny there-"

"Syrus." The cyan haired youth told him.

Sasuke blinked in confusion.

Sakura sighed as she hefted Alexis over her shoulder with ease. "Zane's little brother."

"...You're _both_ lying."

The small first year looked down, "Trust me, he wishes."

 _I do not feel sympathy for lesser beings. I do not feel sympathy for lesser beings. I do not...Dammit._ Sasuke reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose, before sighing. "Fine. S-Syrus. Listen, we're leaving now. Hopefully we all don't get expelled."

 _Or worse,_ he frowned as he felt a chill running up and down his spine. His eyes glanced around him, the soul crushing feeling was still here like when they were here last.

"...Hey, wait, you're Naruto's friend right?" Kuriboh Head asked.

"Yes...Why?"

"You said he was worried? Then why isn't he here?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to point out the stupidity in his question, paused, and then surveyed the room again. Naruto would have spoken up by now. Idiot had no idea what the word 'subtle' meant. He would've made himself known.

That left multiple options, the worst being...

"Out." Sasuke's shoulders squared and he began ushering the younger students toward the door. "Out now. We are leaving now!"

Just as he said that, a dark miasma rose up and crawled around the unconscious adult on the floor.

Panic filled the Uchiha's heart as he roared. "Run!"

" _Where do you think that you're going? Our duel isn't over,"_ The man said, his voice gravellier then before as he rose like a puppet on an amateur's strings.

"Sweet! I wanted to prove how much of a hoax you were from the get go, anyway." Jaden held up his duel disk, but Sasuke grabbed his arm.

"That is _not_ the same guy you were dueling five seconds ago! We have got to get out of here, you idiot!"

" _No. He stays."_ The possessed man chuckled as darkness billowed from under his coat.

 _Shit!_ Sasuke cursed as he felt himself literally pushed away by some unseen force. He wasn't the only one as Sakura, the unconscious form of Alexis, Bastion, and the two Slifers followed him.

Jaden was the only one still standing as he cried out, "Guys! Hey, leave them alone."

" _Hehe, of course. After all, I only want you."_

"Uh, kind of creepy there, big guy."

The man's twisted smile only grew. _"It's going to get a_ lot _creepier in a moment."_

And just like that, a bubbling cloud of darkness swallowed the two.

"No!" "Jay!" "Oh man!"

* * *

Alexis had no idea what was going on. First she goes to mourn for her missing brother. Then some man in a black coat kidnapped her and finally she awoke to see Jaden, his small group of friends and two seniors hovering around her in worry.

"Thank goodness you're awake!" Sakura sighed, giving the confused younger girl a hug. From what the blonde remembered of the older student, she had some emergency medical training and had shadowed Miss Fontaine in the nurse's office at times.

"Yeah. Um...Where are we?" Alexis looked around. The relief on the boys' faces, even the snobbish jerk Sasuke, was a bit concerning. "Did something happen?"

"Well, we _were_ in the dorm of doom, and we _were_ trying to keep these idiots from setting off some kind of apocalyptic Shadow Duel event. Luckily we all got out safely." Sasuke summarized. He sent her three fellow first years a dark look. "We would have gotten out sooner if _someone_ hadn't been duel crazy."

"Oh, yeah, like you would've walked away?"

"You say something, Fat Man, or did you pass gas again?"

"..." The rotund third year Slifer glared at the Obelisk.

"Yeah, I didn't think so." Sasuke scoffed and began to walk off towards the trees to stew. Or brood. He looked more like a brooder. A broody jerk. Fitting, really.

The pinkette Second Year helped Alexis up and sighed, "You shouldn't have come here alone, Alexis. I know that you miss him, but you should never come to this place alone. Do you understand me?"

"The Dope will have a conniption when he finds out that she was here." The Broody Jerk pointed out dryly from his new place under the trees. "Assuming he made it out okay."

"Huh? Yeah, that's right! Naruto's not here!" Jaden exclaimed. He looked back at the abandoned dorm. "We have to go back and get him!

"...Your hat must be killing all of your brain cells. It's the only logical explanation."

 _Wow,_ Alexis blinked. _He doesn't mince words._

"Huh?" Jaden looked at the Second Year in confusion.

"If Naruto wasn't here with us, that means he didn't make it to the dorm at all." Bastion explained.

"Ohh...Then where is he?"

"He was either caught up with something else-"

"Unlikely." Sakura dismissed.

"Or, security could have caught him sneaking about."

"Even _more_ unlikely." Sasuke deadpanned.

"Why's that?" Syrus asked curiously.

Chumley was the one who answered.

"He got you back to the Slifer Dorm unnoticed after _she_ called you out that night, remember?"

Alexis' face blossomed into a full on blush while the two Slifer boys laughed nervously. Nearly causing the expulsion of the two Slifers was not something that she was proud of.

"Oh my," Bastion looked away with pink cheeks of his own.

"It's not what you think!" Alexis said quickly.

"Yeah, we had a totally sweet duel." Jaden grinned merrily.

"I bet you shuffled her deck alright." The Jerk smirked.

 _I may not know where you sleep, but I can and_ will _find out_. Alexis seethed, her face now a dark red.

"Not really. It wasn't a formal duel, and we were on two row boats with her friends.." Jaden shrugged. "At most we had to rely on the duel disks' shuffling."

"How bold."

"C-Can we just go back to our dorms? Please?" Alexis asked. She was done with this conversation, and was still a little tired.

"Yeah, we should probably get out of here before the D.A.S. Agents come see who broke the gate." Chumley muttered.

"...So we're just going to ignore the fact that some guy is probably dead in there or what?" Sasuke asked as he and Sakura began walking away, not towards any of the dorms, but not deeper into the woods.

"Alexis, head straight back alright?" Sakura said, ignoring Sasuke's question, "We have to find Naruto."

"You get to tell him that he was right about the black magic."

"Shut up, Sasuke!"

"I will not be silenced!"

"Heh, I like them. They're funny." Jaden chuckled.

"Quite." Bastion agreed. He looked at Alexis. "Would you care for us to escort you back to your dorm?"

"No, I think I should head back on my own. Don't want a bunch of rumors to start," Alexis said, though she muttered the last bit under her breath. She smiled at the four boys. "Thanks for the offer, and for...whatever it was you did."

"It was no trouble on my part. Now, as much as an enlightening experience this was, I believe I shall return and cover for Naruto until his return. Gentlemen, Lady, a good night to you." Bastion bowed before he headed off for the Ra dorm.

"Later, Lex!" Jaden called over his shoulder, already halfway down the trail towards the Slifer Red Dorm. His fellow Slifers yelped upon realizing how far he had gotten, and gave Alexis similar brief goodbyes.

The buxom blonde watched the Slifer Reds leave before she looked back at the Abandoned Dorm. A sad smile on her face.

"You would've liked Jaden, Atticus." Alexis sighed as she began her trek through the woods towards the Girls Dorm. Not long after her departure from the cursed dorm, she overheard some voices in heated argument. She approached, listening to the argument as it continued.

"Now it's Main Phase one," said an exuberant, if exasperated, voice. "So you can do-"

"What about the Standby Phase?" A deep, nasally voice asked.

"Ugh...What about it?"

"What does it do?"

"It doesn't do anything, it just there as an in-between."

"Bullshit, it's there for a reason. Tell us!"

"Yeah, you trying to trick us?"

"I'm not trying to trick you, it's in the rule books that I gave you!"

"Who carries around two copies of the rule books?"

"Yeah, 24's got a point, that's kind of suspicious."

"It's on the PDA as a PDF."

"That only makes the fact that you carry two even _more_ suspicious!" The nasally speaker exclaimed.

Alexis broke into the clearing, and stared at the sight before her. Dangling above the ground, upside down, was a slightly red-faced Naruto, who was arguing with two Duel Academy Disciplinary Action Squad Agents. One was a tall thin man and the other a shorter rounder fellow. Both had the Duel Monsters Instruction Manual in their hands.

"I don't always carry my PDA, okay?" Naruto sighed. "I keep the books in my deck box, just in case I need them."

"Yeah, says the Slifer Red." The thin guy with the nasally voice crossed his arms.

Alexis winced, that was going to set her fellow blond off for sure.

"Oi! Look at my jacket, Mall Cop! Is it Red? Is it!?"

"No, but you're looking a bit red in the face. Hey, 21, think we should cut him down?"

"What, no way 24!" Agent 21, the shorter round guy, crossed his arms in front of him and pointed at the dangling blond. "It's all apart of his plan! He's trying to distract us so he can get to the Abandoned Dorm."

"I dunno," Agent 24, the tall thin one, rubbed his chin skeptically. "Who plans on getting caught and then getting set free as a diversion? That's either incredibly genius or extremely stupid."

"Dude, didn't you watch any episodes of _Alpha Squad_? That whole series was based on the premise of outthinking your opponent!"

"You know this could be counted as torture right?" Naruto pointed out dryly.

"Please, I know you can hold your breath for five minutes. You tricked us last year by fake drowning."

"You clocked that?"

"Of course we did. You have your own filing cabinet in the security office."

"Wow." Naruto blinked. He sniffled and wiped his arm over his eyes. "I-I feel all warm and fuzzy inside, guys. I didn't think you cared so much."

"We _don't_!" Agent 21 protested. "That cabinet was made in your second month! You've put us through literal hell since day one. Heck, I think you got someone fired!"

"Poor Speedy. This close to getting his badge…" Agent 24 sighed and

"Um, excuse me?" Alexis couldn't help but ask, announcing herself as she walked into the clearing.

"Whoa!" "Ahh, god!" The two D.A.S. Agents jumped and pulled their tasers up.

"Oh, hey Alexis." Naruto greeted with a wave as if he wasn't currently snared upside down. "How's it hanging?"

Typical Naruto, the goofy, _second_ older brother she never had.

"You shouldn't be out here after hours, young lady!" Agent 24 chided as he holstered his taser.

"Or sneaking up on D.A.S. Agents. I mean, do you know what could have happened? We would've broken out some seriously damaging moves." Agent 21 huffed.

"Oh my god, dude." Naruto rubbed his face while Alexis arched a brow. The whiskered blond gave the shorter Agent a dull stare. "She's a first year. Don't try to impress her!"

"What? No way, she's totally a third year."

"She's Atticus' baby sis! I will shove that taser somewhere on his behalf if you keep it up!"

"First you'd have to get down!" Agent 21 smirked.

Frowning, Naruto glared at him. "I'll give you a ten second head start if you cut me down right now."

"Excuse me," Alexis looked at Agent 24, who seemed to be the more reasonable of the two. "How long has he been up there?"

"I...Uh." Agent 24 looked at his watch and blanched. "Oh, crap. Hey, 21."

"You can't do anything to me. You're bluffing!" Agent 21 huffed.

"Ten!"

"Well? How long has he been up there?" Alexis asked, folding her arms and giving the D.A.S. Agent 'the look'.

"Um, well, over an hour, Miss Rhodes." Agent 24 reached over and grabbed his fellow's shoulder. "Hey, 21."

"Over an hour!?" Alexis glared. Then she looked at Naruto.

"Nine!"

"Naruto, knock it off!"

"Alexis, I'm just trying-"

"No, I mean it! I want to go back to my dorm!" Alexis stomped her foot. "First, I was abducted while I was paying my respects at the Abandoned Dorm, and was possibly even drugged, but I really don't want to think about that right now."

"What?! You know that you're not supposed to visit the Dorm by yourself!" Naruto snapped.

"Wait, so there were kids at the Dorm?" Agent 21 asked.

"Oh, great. We ignored students in distress." Agent 24 groaned. "We're so dead!"

"Aw, man. I can't get fired! If I have to go back to the mainland, I'll have to move back in with my mom…" Agent 21 groaned.

"I hear you buddy."

"I hope you both get pink slips!" Naruto huffed. He looked back at Alexis. "You should've called someone. You should've called me-!"

"I wanted to be alone, okay? It was my brother that went missing." Alexis crossed her arms and looked away. A silence permeated the clearing.

"...Awkward…" Agent 24 mumbled.

"Right? And it's not our fault for once."

"I know!"

"Oi! Both of you!" Naruto snapped. He looked back at the girl. "How'd you get away?"

"I was rescued by Jaden, his friends, that Misawa kid, Sakura and Sasuke only to be knocked out again by some black magic thing." Alexis sighed. "Then, I stumble across you caught in a snare and arguing with the school's rent-a-cops-"

"We prefer the term 'Security Personnel'," Agent 21 said pointedly, holding a finger up.

"Dude, shut up!" Agent 24 hissed.

"What? That's what the Union agreed on-"

"Over why you have multiple copies of rule books! I'm tired, I stink like-like-like, I don't even _know_ what, and I'm just done with today!" Alexis finished with a huff.

It felt nice to drop the perfect little Obelisk mask and just vent. Naruto was like Atticus in that regard, he would listen to anyone's problems and help them relax. Granted, that was one of Atticus' many phases, but Naruto seemed to have it on at all times, like a radar.

Sure, it was also done in front of two total strangers, but she could ignore them. It isn't like they would pop up again in her life.

Naruto's eyes softened and he sighed. He turned to the two D.A.S. Agents.

"Hey guys, can you give us a minute here? This is kind of private."

"And let you escape, oh, I don't-!"

"Dude, we're in enough trouble as it is." Agent 24 elbowed the shorter man. Then he turned to Alexis. "Who all exactly went to the dorm?"

"Aside from myself? Jaden Yuki, um, Syrus Truesdale, some big guy-"

"Chumley Huffington, most likely." Naruto piped up.

"Yes, him. Sorry. Uh, Sakura Haruno."

"Petite, pink hair? She fixed my leg one time." Agent 21 interjected.

"Fixed? What'd you do?" Naruto asked.

"Classified."

"...Yeah, alright, I'll ask her later."

"Doctor-Patient confidentiality."

"Sure, sure." Naruto waved at Alexis. "Who else was there?"

"Bastion Misawa…" Alexis' thoughtful features turned into a scowl. "And that jerk, Sasuke Uchiha."

"Yeah, that's a sound description. A bit mundane and bland, but sound." Naruto nodded.

"Broody guy? Your age?" Agent 24 asked.

"Yep."

"We try not to go near him."

"Freaks us out. Worse than any horror movie." Agent 21 shivered.

Naruto chuckled and shook his head. "He has that effect on people."

"Now who kidnapped you? I mean, if we got some guy on campus, we have to inform the Chancellor."

"You'd have to ask them. I was unconscious the whole time." Alexis muttered. She crossed her arms. "Anything else?"

"Nope. C'mon, 21, we have to report this in."

"What, but, Uzumaki is right here!" Agent 21 flailed his arms. "We would be heroes of the force!"

"We'll get him next time. Come on." Agent 24 ushered his companion away.

"No, you won't!" Naruto called out to them, only to get two birds for his trouble. "Ah, I missed those guys."

"Why were you guys arguing about how many rule books you carry?" Alexis asked.

"They didn't know how to duel."

"You're kidding."

"Not even a little. See this face?" Naruto pointed at his deadpan face. "This is my serious face."

"Barbarians."

"I know, right?!" Naruto threw his arms up. "Why hire security guards that can't duel for a school whose entire program is practically built on it?"

"Weird." Alexis agreed as she held herself tighter.

"...Are you okay?"

"No. I want him back Naruto."

"I know, Alexis."

"This isn't fair. Our parents are worried sick, _were_ worried sick." She sniffled and her vision began to cloud. "I...I think they're losing hope. And I think I am, too."

"As long as you keep trying, they'll keep trying," Naruto said. He crossed his arms. "Hell, I'm still trying. I don't give up, dattebayo! Even if there is some sort of freaky ghost magic involved."

"But what if we find him and he is-?"

"Then we cross that bridge when we get to it." Naruto huffed. "Until I can see him with my own two eyes, I refuse to believe Atticus' just vanished. Even if it gets me expelled, I won't stop until I find him and send him home! Count on it, dattebayo!"

The conviction and raw determination that burned in his eyes moved her to tears. His optimism was infections and she found herself renewed in her hope. Ever since Atticus had introduced the blond boy into their family's life, she found a reason to push forward. At first, Alexis' goal was to surpass Naruto and regain her position as her brother's go-to number two.

After Atticus' disappearance, the goal changed to simply finding him. Whenever she felt that seed of doubt enter her head, that regrettable 'what if', Naruto would pluck it out through one of his letters to the family, get her back on her feet, and kick her ass back into gear.

"Thank you, Naruto." She said once her tears died down.

"Alright, awesome." Naruto grinned and clapped his hands together. "Before you go, I just have one favor?"

Sniffling and rubbing her eye, Alexis smiled.

"Sure, what do you need?"

"Could you get me down? I'm starting to lose the feeling in my knees."

"Oh, sorry!"

* * *

 **E4E: And we're back~! Back again! My Yu-Gi-Oh bug has arrived and I need it dealt with!**

 **BB15: Weirdly, we're without a duel this chapter. Not a complaint, those are utterly exhausting to write, and fabricating one just for this episode seemed a bit out of place.**

 **E4E: Alright, so personally, I'm just going to say Bastion was actually one of my favorite characters and I hated how he just got Worfed as the seasons went on. So, expect a bit more out of him since Naruto is there to be his personal 'coach' so to say. Also, Alexis too. Not nearly enough duel time for her plus I just love her and Naruto's interaction here.**

 **BB15: Heh...Worfed…**

 **Kross Kings: Now be kind and review!**


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